


Pet and Owner

by Thisisentertaining



Series: Pet and Owner [1]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: AU, Beast Boy's past, Beast Boy-centered AU, Branding, Cages, Cyborg and BB friendship, Extremely slight BBXRAE, Gen, Past Mental torture, Past physical torture, Scars, Slavery, shock collar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-05
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2017-12-31 13:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 79,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1032152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisentertaining/pseuds/Thisisentertaining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A green boy sat curled upon a cage, collar weighing upon his neck. He was Beast, awaiting for his Master would call upon his shape shifting powers. When his Master commands him to fight four intruding teenagers, Beast finds he's facing foes he is unable to beat and when he loses he is taken like a prisoner of war. But was he stolen or saved?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1. Beastly Battle

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning, this is going to be pretty long. I enjoyed writing it though, so I hope you like it!

A young teen, completely green from the tip of his forest hair to the bottoms of his lime feet, sat curled upon himself in a cage much to small for a boy half his age. A dark cloak covered his small prison, but did not spare him from the sounds, smells, and vibes of the world around him. The boy leaned his head against the cold metal bars, closing his tired eyes and simply awaiting the fate he knew was to come.  
The child had led a horrible life, and he knew that it was likely to never get any better. He had been bitten by a monkey and given a horrible illness, been experimented upon and saved from death at the hands of this disease only to awaken as a freak and monster. He had watched as his parents died, full of “super powers” but unable to use them to save the only things which truly mattered to him. He had been stolen from his loving African Tribal father to become a thief for people who hurt him. He'd had to live for years living with two men who made him steal, made him fight, and gave him nothing but abuse and pain for it. He'd had to make the impossible decision to keep the two men from killing each other in a fight, knowing that his only reward would be scars and bruises. He'd been bought and sold to dozens of different owners and masters. People who had bought him as a pet, as a guard dog, a fighter, and slave.  
The marks of these lives showed on the teen's green skin. Brands from different owners covered his hands, his shoulder blades, even his chest. The sheer glimmer of once burnt skin showed all over his body, and if one studied an X-ray of him closely they would see the evidence of several broken and healed bones. Possibly the most frightening were the thick scars that wrapped around the boy's thin form. A frame much too small, too skinny for a teen his age.  
There was no question that this child was malnourished. His bones could be seen through his green pigment, skin-tight jumpsuits hung loosely on his frame. His current owners were selling him and no longer saw it fit to listen to his constant pleas for vegetarian meals. Not that they had listened much when he was theirs. Instead they cruelly continued to feed him whatever they wished, usually consisting of that nights leftovers and scraps. When faced with the choice to either eat meat or go hungry he had always chosen not to eat... so far at least. With each meal of parsley and water his resolve and determined weakened.  
The boy's eyes cracked open slightly as the sounds of absolute chaos sounded, they widened all the way as the sound steadily increased. His ears perked and he pushed himself up slightly, only to fall back in a weak exhaustion. He knew that should his Master come his exhaustion wouldn't matter, he would have to do whatever was commanded of him. As he leaned back against the metal of his small cage, he knew that despite his curiosity he was better off taking advantage of this brief moment of rest. He wouldn't see anything anyway, the cloak made sure of that. His thick collar clanged against the metal bars of the cage when he sat back. He sighed as it reminded him of his restrictions, but otherwise ignored it as he settled down. Relaxed but alert, the green child leaned back against the bars, his ears perked and his sensitive nose quivering.  
The sounds of chaos continued to reign through the warehouse, screaming, guns, metal hitting metal and concrete, and the dull thuds of bodies connecting and being thrown into walls. It was the sounds of a fight. It was a raid, the child suddenly realized. He idly wondered if he was going to be stolen. It wouldn't be the first time. Not all of his owners had actually bought him from another. He was extremely accustomed to criminal rivalries. If he was free his Master would have him fight, but if he were taken while still in his cage... well there was nothing he could do then. He grimaced as he rubbed one of his worst phantom wounds. The thieves were usually the most violent.  
He straightened slightly as the sounds of running feet distinguished themselves above the general clatter. The feet were coming straight for his cage. The green teen straightened as the sound increased, fear coursing through him. If this was a thief coming to take him away, he would have nothing to look forward to than practical torture and the pain of a new, cruel Master. The steps stopped right in front of his cage, a man's rapid and harsh breathing sounding. The boy felt only a small bit of relief as he recognized the scent of his current Master through the cloak. After all, his life would continue to be horrible no matter who was coming. His relief lasted less than a moment however, for the cloak was torn off the front of his cage almost before the man stopped. The child blinked in surprise as his eyes attempted to get used to the bright light suddenly flooding his vision.  
His Master was crouched in front of his cage, key ring already in his hands. Sweat peppered his Master's forehead, and a new bruise could be seen forming. His eyes were wide and the child could smell the scent of fear on him as the man's hands shook trying to unlock his cage door.  
“Be ready,” The man commanded, and suddenly with a strange influx of power it was not a lime child in the cage, but an evergreen lynx, it's lithe body coiled in preparation to leap. From this position he could jump out of the cage and be in the form of an elephant, lion, or a creature even more ferocious in less than a second. The man cursed violently as his shaking hands struggled to unlock the cage. He continually glanced behind him as though expecting the very shadows to attack.  
He cursed as he once again slipped and the key fell short of the lock. He glared at the bars surrounding the child, and the boy knew that for once he was cursing the restrictions. The cage was designed so that should he attempt to escape by either turning into an animal small enough to slip through between the bars, or large enough to break the barrier electricity would shoot into his collar until the boy either gave up his escape attempt or perished.  
Finally the key clicked into place, just as the shadowy figures of four teens appeared in the doorway.  
“Beast, attack!” The boy's Master yelled and with a burst of its powerful feline hindquarters the lynx leaped out of the cage, transforming into a lion before his paws even touched the ground. The emerald king of the jungle rose his head with a ferocious raw before charging upon the enemies of his Master.  
The teen was a fighting machine, trained cruel and constantly for years to hone his powers, his fighting technique. Masters of strategy and animal behavior had drilled him mercilessly until his animal instincts and human mind were perfectly melded so that they could create the perfect form of attack. Martial artists and weapons masters had trained him, imparting their knowledge upon the unfortunate teen. He was no longer some kid trying to fight and given mysterious powers, he wasn't a hero who trained a few hours a day and fought the bad guys whenever they showed. He was a machine, trained brutally and constantly by the most knowledgeable, most skilled, and most dangerous individuals that existed. He was a Beast.  
He shifted into a cheetah as he charged, leaping forward with astounding speed. He was inches away from the group in less than a second, shifting to the larger lion as he leaped at the group. The leader, a teen boy with spiky hair and a bright outfit, incredibly dodged to the side right before the green feline hit. However, the larger male smelling of both human and machine behind him was not so swift. The green lion's weight landed fully on him, knocking the large male into the two girls. For a millisecond instinct and human strategy argued, unsure of whether to treat the opponent as a human or robot, but he couldn't to dwell on it long, he had to make a decision and act upon it immediately. He knew that from experience. In the end he decided on the later and jumped back, knowing that his current form, whose strength was teeth and claws, would do little to fight against the man's metal and machinery.  
However, he had no time to shift and go back in for another blow at the robotic teen, for as he jumped back his instincts screamed that he was under attack. Shifting into a smaller target, a mouse, and jumping to the side he narrowly missed the impossibly fast attack of a bow staff. It was the fast, spiky-haired one. The green weapon dodged as the teen attacked, constantly shifting to various different rodent forms. The teen was fast, one of the fastest opponents Beast had ever had. It was all that he could do to avoid and learn the other's technique, much less fight back.  
It wasn't until a cup covered in black energy covered his gerbil form that he remembered that the boy had friends. For a moment a light of fear lit in his heart. He was a lone wolf, fighting a pack. Never a good thing. Of course, he had been trained to fight against large numbers but he'd seldom come into serious battle with one as skilled as the brightly colored teen. If all of the group had such skill then this could certainly be a true battle. He could feel his animal instincts bubble at the thought, hungry for the fight, for blood, for the kill.  
He burst from the black cup in the form of an African elephant, swinging his large trunk towards the human scent. He trumpeted in triumph as he felt the long appendage knock down two of his foes. The fast male and a female in a long cloak. His trumpet turned to one of shocked surprise as a ray of green light blasted into his large chest, a red-headed female flying at him with glowing green eyes. He turned into a lime spine-tailed swift and weaved around the flying girl. Just as he expected, she stopped in confusion to follow him with her eyes. Taking advantage of the pause the green teen flew above her, shifting into a peregrine falcon and diving straight into her back at over 200 miles per hour. The girl yelled in shock as he hit her, falling down to the ground below.  
“Starfire!” spiky-head yelled, rushing to his fallen comrade.   
However, the green boy had no time to celebrate his victory before a blast of light blue energy nearly singed his tail feathers. It was the half-robot. With the echoing caw of a predator the falcon dove toward this new foe, changing into a large hippo just before he hit the robotic teen. The green boy felt shock when rather than crushing the robot as he expected, the large teen grabbed him and heaved him into a nearby tower of boxes. As Beast landed he instinctively shifted back to his human form, holding his head in one hand as he felt a recent wound reopen. He grimaced as his hand came away covered in blood and winced in pain before standing unsteadily and turning into a gorilla.  
It was no wonder why he was having such trouble. He hadn't had a proper meal in days and injuries from training covered his body. He hadn't had more than a few hours rest in week s. Those were all excuses though. Masters did not listen to excuses. Excuses led to nothing more than punishment and pain. With a shuddering sigh he rose in his primate form and pushed through the boxes until he faced the teens again. His heart froze when he saw them. They had regrouped and were waiting for him.  
The flying redhead was floating near the ceiling, both her eyes and hands glowing a bright green. The female in the cloak stood next to her in the air, a disk of energy as black as night holding her up. Her eyes glowed white and the black energy covered her hands. The robot-man was on the ground, pointing his arm-canon at the gorilla as it came out from the boxes. The leader stood to the side, his mask bent down in a glare as his staff and some projectiles stood ready in his hands.  
With a barbaric roar the green boy hid his intense fear, showing it as anger as he charged the one nearest to him. The leader shouted his rallying cry, “Titans, go!” And the two clashed once again. The next few moments were pure instinct and adrenalin as the five teens fought viciously. The lone green shape shifter was almost entirely on the defense, only occasionally landing a blow. Had it been a matter of simply defeating the green animals then the four titans would have quickly been counted the victors, but the green creature was too slippery for them to catch. The spiky haired leader, a teen called Robin, stepped back to marvel at his enemy’s endurance. The green thing had been in nearly constant movement for who knew how long, yet he showed no signs of slowing.  
He watched as his teammates fought the strange colored animals, searching for an exploitable weakness. Suddenly he heard a noise behind him that reminded the Titan why they were in that room in the first place. The leader of a major smuggling ring had been running business in this warehouse for months and they had finally found him. After the Titans had started demolishing his pitiful excuses for guards the man had run into this room, setting that green creature after them. As long as the blueprints that his teammate Cyborg had dug up were correct, there wasn't any way out of this room other than the door they had been battling in front of. That meant that the ring leader was still in the room. Robin looked back to see Cyborg blasting crazily with his canon as an evergreen bat flew at his face. He turned back to where he'd heard the noise when the robotic teen succeed in swatting the bat away, sending it back into the boxes where it quickly emerged as a growling grizzly.  
The Titan leader went deeper into the room and farther away from his friends, searching the shadows for the man whom he knew was hidden amid the boxes and supplies. Finally he heard the slight sound and grinned. He had finally found his quarry. Starting into a sprint he turned around the corner to see the man he'd been searching for hiding behind a large crate. The man looked up with horrible fear as he saw Robin and gripped a small remote he held in his hand.  
“Protect!” He yelled, his voice cracking with fear. “Protect!” As he spoke he pressed a button at the center of the remote. Suddenly a horrible scream erupted from where the battle still raged. A scream that Robin knew did not come from any of his teammates.  
“Protect!” The man called again, and suddenly the form of a large bird rose over the boxes, turning into a large animal and crashing into Robin horrendously. The shape-shifter was now a bear, his eyes wide with pain and fear, tossing his neck from side to side as the collar sparked slightly. The boxes erupted with a crash as the rest of the Titans resumed the fight, each one housing a worried, unnerved expression as they battled the now raging creature. Robin however no longer had eyes for the green beast, instead he was focused on the man who was currently attempting to escape in the confusion. The young hero gave chase, leaving the crux of the battle to his team. The man looked back as he ran, panic once again overriding his features.  
“Protect!” He yelled once more, hitting the button. Again, pained yelling erupted from the battle and Robin soon found a cheetah attempting to sink its teeth into his leg. He jumped over the creatures head, turning in midair and delivering a swift kick that the creature was unable to avoid. He was finally slowing, though if it was because of exhaustion or the attacks of pain the Titan did not know. The boy wonder swung his bow staff at the cat, only for it to be deftly avoided. The changeling shifted to a ram and Robin huffed as the large round horns knocked the wind out of him. Suddenly the goat was blasted back as a dark-clothed crate shot into him. Robin nodded his appreciation as his team once again flooded into the fight.  
“You go after the guy,” The dark clothed empath Raven said to the leader as she fought.  
“Yes, leave the fighting of the multitude of earth creatures to us.” The alien Starfire called as she blasted said multitude of creates with a green starbolt.  
“We won't let him chase after ya this time.” Cyborg ended, and Robin nodded and sprinted off to find the man once again. This time however, he tapped into his extreme talent for stealth and was upon the man before he knew it. Within seconds the smuggler was bound, Robin smirking over him as he held the small remote. This guy hadn't had a chance.  
“Protect! Protect!” The man called, though unable to use the small device. Even so there was a crash as a green wolf burst through a stack of crates, a snarl on his face. Robin turned as quick as a flash and hurled an exploding ball at him opponent, his eyes widening as he saw the black, blue, and green energy shooting at the canine from behind. Each of the four projectiles hit the emerald wolf at the exact same time.  
The creature yelped as he was hit, sounding more like a puppy in pain than the snarling foe they had seen. There was a strange, uneasy silence as the green creature's body smashed into a wall, once again landing behind one of the warehouses's numerous piles of crates. This time however, the group didn't wait for him to recover. The four rushed to were his smoking form lay, Robin hauling the villain with him. They stopped as they finally saw him, no longer the animistic fighting machine they had been accustomed to, but a small, underfed, and greatly scarred green boy laying unconscious with his cloths shredded with burns from the fight. Blood dripped from a wound on his head, as well as several other places. There was a gaping hole in the side of his shirt, smoke curling off the edge and a horrible looking burn underneath it. The four Titans shared a glance, knowing that it was there combined attack which caused the wound.  
Robin frowned as he neared the teen. This had not been what he'd been expecting to find when they had the chance to finally see their foe. He then looked down to the smuggler and the remote and decided that he probably shouldn't be so surprised.  
The unconscious boy whimpered slightly and his eyes slit open. Suddenly he jumped to his feet, crouched in ready position.  
“Freeze!”  
Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire's hands glowed with energy and Robin instinctively pointed the remote at the teen. The boy froze, though his eyes were not locked on the numerous painful weapons which had subdued him just moments before, but on the small, simple device in Robin's hand. The villain held by the heroic teen squirmed in his grasp.  
“Fight! Protect! Attack!” The man called. Each Titan tensed, but the boy did not move and his eyes did not leave Robin's hand. This spiky haired boy held the controller. The green boy slowly rose one hand to brush against the collar on his neck. He who held the controller controlled the collar, they controlled the pain. Whomever held the controller was Master. It was how he was trained. He now belonged to this teen whom he had just been fighting like an enemy. His heart pounded in his chest as he anticipated the punishment certain to eventually come. The boy's old Master cursed.  
“No! Ignore that, Beast! I am the Master! You listen to me, ME! Not this boy! Listen to me! Attack!”  
Still he did not move. His eyes were still locked on Robin, his body still in his battle stance. Robin looked down to the irate villain, to the remote, to the green teen. “Uh... at ease?”  
Suddenly the boy's stance relaxed, shifting from battle-ready to a simple standing position. The rest of the Titans relaxed as well, the glow faded from the girls' hands and Cyborg's arm returned to normal.  
“No!” The villain cursed, but no one was paying him any attention. Each of the hero teens had their eyes locked on the green boy standing with his gaze on Robin.  
"Well...” Cyborg began slowly. “That was weird. What is that thing?”  
Robin frowned as he examined the device. “It's a remote. He would press the button when calling for this... what did he just call it, Beast? He hit it when he was calling for him.”  
“So that’s what made him freak out like that.”  
“What happened when he pressed it? I was too far away to ever see.”  
Starfire answered the boy wonder's question. “The green shifter of shapes would cry out in extreme pain and grip the collar around its neck. Then it would disappear and find you and this man.”  
“A shock collar.” Robin concluded. Cyborg nodded.  
“A pretty powerful one at that. Here let me see it.”  
Robin nodded and handed the remote to the larger teen, accidentally jabbing it near Beast as he did so. The green teen flinched visibly. He shook with fear as he wondered what punishments these powerful new Masters would give him for fighting against them. The group noticed the flinch and each member frowned. Cyborg moved to put a hand on the green boy's shoulder.  
“Hey, its okay. I'm not going to hit the button, I promise.”  
Beast flinched at the contact as the metallic hand touched his shoulder, accustomed to any touch bringing pain. The frowns of the group deepened. Suddenly voices sounded from another room, the police were finally here. Robin began to drag the smuggler to the voices, only to stop when Raven's monotone voice sounded.  
“So what are we doing with him?”  
Robin stopped, turning back to meet the eyes of the terrified green weapon. He sighed. This kid was a mystery. He wanted answers. Was the boy really just following orders because the smuggler had the shock collar or was he a villain as well? Did he enjoy fighting and hurting others or was it simply something he was ordered to do? Did it matter? Was the kid too far gone into a life of simply obeying orders to be saved? He may end up putting the boy in jail anyway, but Robin wanted some answers before he decided on anything.  
“Take him back to the tower for now. Something about this whole situation was strange. I want to get some answers from him about a few things first, if he can talk that is. You guys head back now and get one of the quarantine cells ready to keep him in and take care of some of those wounds. I'll handle things down here.”  
The Titans nodded. Cyborg's grip on the green teen's shoulder tightened slightly and the boy flinched again, making the semi-robot sigh.   
“Come with me.”  
The boy immediately hastened to obey, keeping pace perfectly with the robot until he was placed in the passenger seat of the T-car. Cyborg sighed as he handed the remote to Raven, knowing that she would use it if necessary. That didn't seem likely however. The child was the picture of obedience, never lifting his head or moving suspiciously in the least. Still, better safe than sorry.  
Beast looked out of the window from the corner of his eye as one of his new Master's drove him to what he suspected would be his new dwelling place. He had never had Masters so young before. They were nearly his age. He did not know if they would be kinder or crueler than most masters. He did not know if they wanted him to steal or to guard or fight or something else entirely. He knew nothing other than the deep set animal instinct that called to him, shouted in his mind that these Masters would be different than any he had ever had before.  
He shifted slightly in the seat, taking care to make sure he did not seen violent or appear to be attempting to escape. The girl in the cloak who held the remote raised it anyway, but she didn't press the button. He breathed in relief and once again turned his eye to the window, never moving his head. He noticed that blood from his head wound was getting on the seat and mentally wined. His Masters would not be happy about that. He closed his eyes in despair. He certainly wasn't getting off to a good start with these Masters. There was already so much for them to punish him for. He searched the vehicle with his senses, becoming accustomed to the scents and sounds of his new Masters.  
It wasn't long before he had a complete mental picture of the vehicle, all without moving his head. Suddenly the thought occurred to him that he didn't smell his cage. His Masters had left it behind. That was his last thought before hunger, exhaustion, and the intense pain from the collar, burns, and the fight finally overcame him and he lost the battle of consciousness.


	2. 2. dreading discipline

Raven, her amethyst eyes watching the green child with unwavering attention, raised the remote threateningly as the boy’s head dipped forward. Starfire and Cyborg tensed as well, only for the entire group to relax as the robotic man sighed in relief. “It’s fine. He’s just asleep.”

Raven’s eyebrows rose and she leaned forward slightly. They had been battling the boy only seconds ago and now he was sleeping? It didn’t sit right. He had been so tense, so wary and… afraid of them. He’d looked like a prisoner heading to death row as he followed Cyborg to the car, and now he was relaxed enough to fall asleep? Something was off. Starfire apparently thought so too, for a deep frown graced the alien’s lips. However, being the more vocal of the two girls she was the only one to voice her concern.

            “I am surprised that one as fearful as the green boy seemed to be would so readily sleep in front of his enemies.”

            Raven gave a half nod, her grave eyes locked onto the shape shifter's sleeping form. Cyborg turned his eyes away from the road to study Beast as well. He winced as he saw the slash of red littering the seat behind the boy’s head, though for once he wasn’t thinking about his baby. He took in the child’s malnourished and tiny form and the various wounds littering his body from the fight and from the cruelties of his master before it. “I don’t think it was his choice Star. The kid doesn’t look healthy. He's probably exhausted.”

            Star allowed a small smile to flit across her mouth. “It was a fierce battle indeed. I myself will be happy once I am in my own bed.”

            Cyborg nodded. “I can’t wait till I can recharge my batteries.”

Raven nodded silently in the backseat. She was tired as well, it was one of the reasons she chose to ride in the car instead of teleporting home. That and she wanted to reserve as much energy as possible for healing the boy.

“And just think Star," Cyborg said, interrupting the empath's thoughts. "It was just him against the four of us. I think the little dude deserves a rest.”

Instead on smiling and agreeing, the alien simply cast a concerned look at the sleeping boy. “He needs some good food as well.”

Cyborg nodded softly, sighing in relief as he saw that they were nearing the tower. “I know he does. He needs a lot of things. Trust me, I’m gonna make sure he gets them.”

Finally a full smile blossomed across the happy girls face, but Raven simply continued to watch the boy. She knew that returning the boy to full health would require a lot more than medical assistance and a good meal. The boy… Beast was broken. However, the Titans at times seemed to be masters at fixing broken things.

Finally they arrived at the tower, Cyborg glancing awkwardly at Beast as he put the car in park. Sure the kid was  small enough to carry easily, but how would the jumpy boy react to that much physical contact if he woke up at the wrong time? Raven still had the small remote gripped in her hands, and kept her steely gaze on the boy as Starfire opened the door of the car, letting the cool breeze of the unheated garage sweep through the warm vehicle.

Beast’s eyes snapped open as the cool air brushed against his skin, immediately he was sitting up ramrod straight and alert. The eyes of his new Masters were on him in an instant, and a continuing feeling of dread grew in his stomach. This was not good. First he’d fought his new Masters, then he’d bled over their very fancy looking car, and finally he’d fallen asleep without permission. The list was just getting longer and longer. And that was just the stuff that he knew he’d done wrong. Who was to say that these new masters didn’t have more rules that he didn’t know about that he’d already broken.

Great, just great. He started shaking in his seat, and the two of his Masters that were still in the car exchanged a glance. The robotic one raised a hand as though to place it on his shoulder as he had done earlier, but lowered it. Beast was glad. The painless touch earlier had been strange and uncommon. 

The robotic man sighed and got out of the car and Beast’s heart impossibly beat even harder. He had made Master upset somehow. The green creature closed his eyes and bit back a sigh of his own. He couldn’t seem to do anything right today. He opened them as the door next to him was opened, the floating alien girl smiling at him.

“Greetings, friend.” She said kindly and the boy shifted at the unfamiliar tone, his emerald eyes discretely glancing over each of the three Masters. The floating female, the female with the black powers, and the robotic male. The one with the spiky hair was gone; he had stayed at his old master’s warehouse. The child’s eye traced the small garage. This was to be his new house.

Beast felt fear trill through him as he awaited a command. He was still shaking slightly, and had to bite a whimper back to the back of his throat. He was going to be punished soon, he just knew it. Any other master probably wouldn’t have even waited this long. He didn’t know how cruel these Masters would be. The boy kept his eyes to the floor as he waited to be told what to do,  he didn’t want to look his Masters in the eye and risk angering them.

Cyborg shared a glance with the girls and fell to one knee until he was eye level with the green boy in the car. He moved a hand to touch the boy’s shoulder, only to stop when Beast tensed and the cyborg was reminded of the boy’s earlier reaction. He let his hand drop to the floor before speaking in calm, soothing tones.

“Calm down kid. Don’t worry, no one is going to hurt you.”

At the first command Beast forced his shaking to stop and his pulse to steady, but it wasn’t until the second statement that he truly felt relief. So they wouldn’t hurt him yet, his punishment was to come later. Of course, the leader wasn’t there yet. The spiky-haired Master’s underlings wouldn’t do anything to Beast until the leader was there to oversee, that made sense. Still his Masters simply stood staring at him expectantly, giving no more orders.

“Get out of the car.” A low, monotone voice said as the female in the blue cloak stepped forward.

Beast hastened to obey, scrambling out of the vehicle and standing at attention. “Nice work Rae,” The Cyborg muttered before stepping closer to Beast. The green creature paid attention to the name, knowing that he was unlikely to get any introductions but that names would help keep his thoughts in order. The dark girl, Rae, glared at the metallic man.

“The name is Ra-ven, Cyborg.”

Okay, Raven was the dark female, and the robotic man was called Cyborg. That only left the spiky-haired man and his orange-skinned mate.  Cyborg nodded, but didn’t seem to really have been paying attention to the girl. “Sorry. Star, can you go and get one of the containment cells ready? The one closest to the interrogation room please, I have a feeling that’s where Rob will want him once he gets back.”

Star was the female, and it would seem that the male was called Rob. Beast committed the names to memory, though he said nothing as the robot dished out commands, waiting patiently for one himself.

“Raven, grab some medical supplies and bring them to the room Star picks out. I know you can heal most of his wounds but after that battle you’re not in top form and I don’t want you to overdo yourself in case something bad happens.”

Raven nodded and the two girls disappeared through the door. Beast stood expectantly awaiting orders of his own. Cyborg sighed again before looking at the tiny boy awkwardly. “Um, follow me?”

They cyber-teen made his way through the tower to the common room, the green teen tottering at his heels. Cyborg stopped in the kitchen, and studied Beast’s skinny frame. The kid desperately needed something to eat. They had a few moments before the room would be ready anyway, and the boy looked ready to fall over at a gust of wind. The Titan turned and began scouring the kitchen for food. The fridge was off limits. The boy seemed so unhealthy it didn’t look like he had any immune system at all. Cy wasn’t sure if he would be able to survive the blue stuff in the fridge.

He looked through the cabinets, going past Star’s alien food, the boxes of waffle mix, and the crates of herbal tea before finally finding something easily to make and edible: a can of tomato soup and a sleeve of crackers. Cyborg poured soup and water into the pot, making sure the heat was on high so that it could cook as quickly as possible. The large hungry teen smiled as the scent of the soup filled the air, and he had to remind himself that he wasn’t making it for himself. That was easy to do when a low grumbling sounded behind him and he turned to see Beast starring at his thin green stomach in absolute horror.

Cyborg chuckled softly. “Hungry, huh?”

Beast began shaking again, though this time it was much less perceivable. He was messing up so much with these new Masters. Why couldn’t they just punish him and get it over with? He wasn’t supposed to feel weaknesses such as hunger or exhaustion. He wasn’t supposed to ruin his Master’s fancy cars, and he certainly wasn’t supposed to fight them. They weren’t doing anything about it though. They hadn’t done anything to hurt him after the initial fight. It just didn’t make any sense!

Cyborg looked back at the boy as he cooked, for the first time noticing that he hadn’t moved from his position from when he’d first entered. “Um, you can sit down if you want.” The soup started to bubble and he paid attention to stirring it, only looking back when the bubbling stopped. The cyber-teen started in surprise that instead of moving to the couch or a table, the boy had simply dropped to the floor. The Titan began to tell the green teen that he could sit in a chair if he wanted, but decided that he was fine where he was. That didn’t stop the half-robot from continuing to shoot the kid glances as he cooked.

“So green genes, what’s your name?” He mentally kicked himself. Who knew if the kid could even talk, what if-

“My title is Beast.” A quiet, subdued voice sounded from the floor where the kid sat.

“Beast?” Cyborg asked, too stunned by the reply to realize that the teen could indeed talk. He had heard the villain who’d had the boy call him Beast, but he’d never guess that was the poor guy’s name. Beast nodded slightly. He had had this same conversation with multiple masters and continued as though reading a script.

“My title is Beast, but I will respond to any name my master wishes to give me.”

Cyborg gulped. “Mind if I just stick with B for now?”

Beast blinked and nodded once, committing this new name to memory. Suddenly he scented Master Raven behind him. His ears swiveled to her nearly silent form, though he didn’t make a move to turn his head. His eyes were still trained on Cyborg, and he felt a small trill of pleasure when the large man jumped at the girl’s voice.

“The room is ready.”

“Ahhhh! Raven, don’t do that.”

“I can take him to the room and start tending to his wounds.”

“Great, where’s Star?”

“I sent her into town to pick up some new clothing for the boy.”

Cyborg looked down at Beast and was glad that Raven had sent for new clothes. The ones he had were in complete tatters, torn and stained in a million different ways. The shirt, with its huge gape in its side from the battle, was barely clinging to his small form. Blood, puss, and dirt covered the few parts of the garment still intact. The kid really needed some new threads. Then the words clothes and Starfire connected in his mind and the half-robot winced. “Oh great. I hope you like pink, B.”

“I told her that we could go shopping properly for clothes for him later if she promised to bring back something simple today. We’ll see how well that went in a few minutes.” She turned to meet Beast’s eyes. “Follow me.”

The green boy jumped to his feet and followed the grey girl, trying to memorize his surroundings as she led him to a sparse cell. The room held a small sink, toilet and a cot against one wall, a bare bulb hung from the ceiling. A small stool sat next to the bed, an array of medicines and bandages scattered around it. Raven nodded at the bed. “Sit.”

Beast hastened to obey. He wanted to make sure that he didn’t make any more mistakes. The female Master watched as he scrambled to the bed, her face revealing no emotion. She held up her hands as he sat, and a mysterious white light encompassed them. Beast tensed, but didn’t flinch away. He gripped the side of the bed and clenched his jaw in fear as the unfamiliar light neared him. He didn’t move though. He remained still as fear churned in his stomach.

The white-enveloped hands gently caressed the back of his head and Beast twitched slightly at the pain of the touch before the entire wound was soothed with a calming coolness. His eyes closed in relaxation as the pain went away and he sighed in relief.

Raven worked to heal the wound on the back of his head, moving past the largest burn as she realized that she had no clue what the consequences would be if she attempted to heal a wound her powers had caused. She was about to move on to the smaller wounds littering his arm and legs when she felt more of her healing power go into the boy’s head, an area she thought she had healed. She allowed the power to flow to the boy, simultaneously reading it to find out why he needed more healing. He’d had a slight concussion. Suddenly the girl realized that not all of his injuries would necessarily be surface wounds.

She searched though his body, a magical medicinal probe to find the injuries she could not see. The girl seethed when she found various bones that had been broken and not healed correctly, some of which that could cause major health problems if allowed to stay. She worked her magic through these hidden injuries, working away at them until his inner body was whole, even if his skin remained littered with cuts. 

Beast certainly didn’t mind that she had focused on the internal injuries. He slumped in relief; even with the burn on his side, he hadn’t felt this good in forever. Raven stopped as she corrected the shape of his final rib bone, taking a few more seconds to heal the minor cuts littering his legs before deciding that it would be dangerous to do much more. She stepped back. “Cyborg will take care of the rest.”

Beast’s eyes were shining in gratitude as she stepped back. For a moment he wasn’t even worried about what these new masters were like, or when they would punish him, or how bad it would be. He felt better than he had in years, and according to Raven, Cyborg would work to heal the other wounds. It was incredible.

His entire mood went crashing down as he realized that with someone who could instantly heal him, they could beat and punish him horribly without worrying about it affecting his performance the next day. This girl could just heal whatever wounds they inflicted as soon as they deemed that he’d suffered enough.

He had little time to ponder this, for Cyborg quickly came in, a bowl of the soup in one of his large hands and a sleeve of crackers in the other. Beast immediately sat up straighter as the larger teen came in. He tried to keep his eyes on the floor as he had been trained, but the allure of the food was too great for the starving boy, and his eyes were locked onto the steaming bowl which, to his surprise, was soon placed onto his lap. He looked up incredulously to the metallic teen, who had a large satisfied grin stretching across his face.

“Eat up!” He said, placing the crackers next to Beast. “Just try not to move around too much while I work on fixing up those wounds. Geeze Raven, I thought you woulda gone right for the big one.” He pulled the stool closer to the bed and picked up a roll of bandages and some gauze. Beast dug in, spooning soup into his open mouth, his ears perked as Raven spoke to the other Titan.

“I was unsure what would happen if I tried to heal a wound I’d caused. I thought it best to leave that to you. He had too many internal complications for me to heal all of his minor wounds.”

Cyborg hummed a little in understanding as he spread ointment over a large pad of gauze, gently laying along the green child’s side and using medical tape to keep it in place. Beast barely winced as the pad brushed the tender area, too concerned with his meal. It was only a little while later that Cyborg finished fixing up the injuries; Beast had been the model patient. The green boy had finished eating at around the same time, and both the bowl and cracker sleeve sat empty.

The boy blinked slowly, his tiredness renewed now that he had been sitting for a long time and his stomach was comfortably filled with food. His gaze shifted from Master to Master, unsure of what to do. The two masters seemed to be just as lost. They shared a glance and Cyborg checked his watch, muttering about how long it took to run to the store and buy something. As if conjured by his words, Beast’s final female Master burst through the room, brandishing a large bag.

“Oh friends, I am sorry that it took so long. I’m afraid that one I arrived at the store I did not know our new friends side. Then it was most difficult to match his skin color, then I-“

“Did you get the clothes?” Raven interrupted and Starfire beamed.

“Of course!” She pulled a pair of small black sweatpants and a long sleeved purple shirt from the bag. “I have purchased undergarments as well. I found these adorable ones with friend Robin’s logo on them and-“

“Woah girl, too much info.” Cyborg interrupted, handing the bag to Beast. “You get changed into those; we’ll be back in a bit.” He grabbed the empty dishes and the group left the room, leaving the stunned green shape shifter to stare at the bag in amazement. New clothes, filling and warm food, fixed wounds, and no punishment so far, it was like a dream. It was… confusing. This wasn’t how masters were supposed to act. This wasn’t how he was supposed to be treated, especially by new masters. It was wrong, it was confusing. He didn’t know what to do, how to act. His others masters were cruel, but at least they were consistent. This… he had no clue what to do. Beast slowly removed his rags and pulled on the new clothes, looking down on himself to see the fit. It was a little big, but not too bad, and he actually kind of liked the color combination.

Beast carefully folded his old clothes and put them in the bag, standing awkwardly in the room as he wondered what to do next. He flexed his bare hands experimentally and looked back to the stained and ripped gloves. His new Master hadn’t gotten him replacements and he wondered if this meant that they didn’t want him to wear gloves anymore, but he felt weird without them on. He’d worn them for years; he’d gotten them after his first few masters had branded the backs of his hands. He didn’t remember their names, or the names of any of his earliest Masters really, but the symbols burned into his flesh, the S on his left and K on his right, made these two owners very hard to forget. He hated the precise, stark scars. The master whom bought him from Master S and Master K hadn’t liked the brands. He hadn’t liked that they were the permanent signs of the other masters' ownership.

 That Master had given him durable fabric gloves to hide the old brandings and had placed his own mark over Beast’s left shoulder blade. Beast had worn gloves ever since. He had outgrown the gloves over time and the master he’d had when the gloves became unbearably small, a man determined that he would be able to fight without powers as well as with them, had given him a new pair with padding at the knuckles to help when he fought. These gloves were made out of leather and Beast hated it, but he wouldn’t dare to argue with that master, he was one of the worst. It was those very gloves that he had now. By now the dark leather was stained and littered with holes. They looked ugly and old compared to his new clothes… but the scars looked worse. He took the gloves and tugged them on, flexing his covered fingers in the soft and well-worn leather.

 Moving over to the sink, he turned on the water and tried to rub out the dark stains. He whimpered slightly when he saw it wouldn't work. Dropping his gaze he noticed his reflection in the silver of the metal handle. The boy winced slightly as he caught sight of the dried blood stuck to his face and hair. He splashed water in his face, rubbing the water in to clean it. He stuck his head under the cascading water, using his fingers to scrub out the dried blood. There was a small rag next to the sink and Beast used it to dry his face. His hair was still dripping wet and water was flowing into his eyes. The rag was too small to really be much use on his hair, but he didn’t want his master to come in with it soaking. If he were in his dog form then it would be simple to shake out his fur. He glanced around the room worriedly.

Some master didn’t want him to change forms unless he was ordered to. Actually, make that most masters. A few of them didn’t mind so long as it didn’t affect what they planned to do. Maybe these Masters wouldn’t mind. They did seem more lenient than most but… he had given them so many other reasons to disapprove of him. He looked around once more. His masters weren’t in here now though. Maybe, if he did it quickly enough they would never know. He immediately shifted into a Chihuahua, a dog small enough to make very little splatter when he shook himself dry. His pelt vibrated and water splattered the walls. The green dog was so concentrated on drying himself off quickly that he didn’t hear the metal clanging of feet until the door swished open.

Cyborg stood in the doorframe, from the look on his face he had no clue how to react. Beast immediately shifted back to his human form, looking with absolute fear at the cyborg. The larger teen blinked twice before grinning.  

“Well, those could probably fit you better, but it must be nice to be out of your old rags, huh?” Beast didn’t respond, still terrified that his master would be angry at him for shifting without permission. Cyborg noticed and softened his grin, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m glad you got yourself cleaned up. And I’ll let this stay between you and me, but I wouldn’t try shifting again for a while, not until we know Rob’s okay with it.”

Beast nodded emphatically, both ashamed and relieved. He shouldn’t have changed, but this Master would keep him from being punished for it. He flashed the Master one of his rare discreet smiles, the closest thing to an actual outspoken thank you that he would get. He was never supposed to speak to a Master except to answer a direct question. The perfect pet always had a muzzle.

The large teen caught the small smile and grinned broadly back, the expression falling as he started walking out. “Follow me.” His carefree voice had grown grave and the green teen gulped before following. This was probably the punishment for the other stuff.

Beast was led to a large empty room with only a table and two chairs to occupy it. A lone desk lamp sat in the table, and a mirror took up an entire wall. Hand cuffs sat on the table and the floor near one of the chairs. Cyborg gently sat him down and linked the cold metal around his wrists and ankles, something Beast didn’t understand. He had the collar on which meant that he couldn’t escape and he’d been trained not to resist during the punishments. He didn’t think they needed the extra bindings but he said nothing. Pets don’t question their masters.

Cyborg  pat his head, though the motion had been like his touch back at his old masters, one devoid of pain and almost friendly. “Sorry about this B, you don’t have to look so scared though. I already told you, we aren’t gonna hurt you.”

Beast made himself seem lose his tension and took the fear out of his eyes as he did what his master commanded. It seemed that this wasn’t the punishment either. He truly relaxed, allowing himself to lean against the hard chair. Cyborg smiled at him and left as beeping came from a yellow device he held. Beast’s eyes roamed over the room. He almost felt like smiling cheekily at the “mirror” but knew that even if they didn’t seem keen to punishing him, he should appreciate it rather than testing the limits.

He rolled his head back, shifting in the comfortable new cloths and reveling in amazement at his full stomach and lack of pain. He had felt many things towards his old masters. He’d feared them, hated them, despised them, and been revolted by them. But this… this was totally alien to him. He almost… liked these Masters. At least, he did now but wait until the spiky-haired, colorful Rob-leader came back. Who knew what life would be like then?


	3. Quailing in Questioning

Robin growled at the police commissioner before him. Usually the man was very helpful to the Titans¸ but today he was determined not to let Robin leave with Beast.

“Robin, I’m just concerned that we get him to jail. I know you say that he was just following orders, but so are a lot of henchmen. With the battle it looks like he gave you, I don’t want to risk letting a violent criminal go because of a simple mistake.”

“I understand, but trust me. When we were fighting he stopped immediate after I got the remote from the warehouse owner. I don’t think he is actually a villain, but I won’t know until I can question him properly.”

“And why can’t you do it at the station?”

“Because if I’m right then I want to keep him at the tower for observation and attempt to get him to work for us.”

“But can’t you just-“

An officer ran up with a large file in his hand. “Sir, we have found the warehouse’s file room and I found a file on the green boy.”

“Good.” The commissioner nodded, taking the folder from the other man.

“But sir, it’s strange. He wasn’t in the files about accomplices or security or even anything to do with customers. He was listed as… a weapon. One that was for sale. He was under the product identification and according to the shipping book a potential buyer was coming in tomorrow to look at him.”

The commissioner stared at the man in shock. Robin sighed and fixed the man with a bat-glare. “See? This boy would do no more harm to us than a confiscated weapon. Once it is out of the hands of criminals it is harmless, maybe even useful. We will be able to train him to fight for us better than you could hope for. If he does turn out to be hostile, then we have more than adequate jailing at the tower. Does the jail even have precautions set in place that can hold a shape shifter?”

The commissioner and the officer shared a glance, and that was the end of that discussion. Robin took the file from the officer’s hand. “I’ll send you a copy of this later.”

He turned, his cape billowing out behind him as left the room, leaving the commissioner staring blankly after him. Robin’s cycle tore through the streets of Jump as the Titan raced to his tower home. He, ever the law abiding citizen, stopped at the red lights, pulling out the file any time he was forced to stop. When he finally reached the tower he pulled out the papers again and read as much as he could as he walked to the commons room, skipping to any information that seemed immediately relevant. The more he read, the less he liked.

He made it to the common room to see Cyborg pacing nervously. “Finally man! Where were ya?”

“Sorry, it took me a minute. Where are the girls?”

“I think they’re both waiting in the observation room, Raven might be meditating there.”

Robin nodded and flipped through the papers, “Is the shape shifter already there?”

“Yeah, he’s in the chair and everything. And we better hurry up and get this started before Starfire succumbs to the urge to hug the poor kid. He looks terrified.”

Robin ‘hmm’-ed discontentedly as he glanced across a rather nasty looking picture of a scar in the file. He began walking to the interrogation room. “Did you and Raven take care of his wounds?”

“Yeah, she didn’t touch the one on his side though, so that could take a while to heal. I found him something to eat and Star ran to the store to get some clothes. He looks a lot better but...”

Robin nodded silently as they stopped in front of the room. It would probably take a while before the kid really looked healthy. He glanced at the door to the room and sighed. He really didn’t want to treat this boy like a common criminal, but he knew that it was probably the best way to get information. Though if the files were right then there was little chance that the boy would hide anything from him, no matter how he conducted the questioning. He shared a glance with Cyborg.

“You’ve been with him for a while, what do you think? Should I go in alone or would he respond better with you in the room?”

Cyborg glanced at the door, a light concern in his human eye. “I dunno… I think I’ll come in with ya, but I won’t say anything unless the kid starts to freak out.”

Robin nodded and, taking a deep breath, straightened his shoulders as he strode confidently through the door.

Beast had straightened in his seat when his sensitive ears had first heard the footsteps walking to the room he was in. He sat ramrod straight with his eyes locked onto the flat tabletop, exactly as he had been trained. Somehow he managed to straighten even more when Master Rob strode through the door. He glanced up at the teen, watching as he stalked commandingly in, Cyborg following behind to stand in a corner.

Beast’s terrified heart began to slow to a more comfortable rate. This teen walked like a master. This Master was confident and controlling, used to giving out commands and having them followed without question or hesitation. He was a person of authority and wanted his commands to be acted upon. This was more like Beast was used to. He knew how to appease these types of people. This was his life, his comfort zone, and even if it was not a usually pleasant life it was familiar.

Robin eyed the harsh restraints around the boy’s wrist, his mask-clothed eyes traveling from the tabletop and over the small green teen’s form. His gaze lingered slightly on the old and ratty gloves before noting approvingly of the new clothes. A scar could be seen behind the t-shirts neckline and a small fang stuck out from the bottom of the boy’s lip. His face had been washed, as had his hair so both were now free of blood. Robin couldn’t see the boy’s expression, his head was respectfully bowed. Robin felt an uncomfortable stirring in the pit of his stomach. He forced the feeling away and twisted his face into a serious, strict countenance, just as he would a common criminal. He hit his hands on the counter, slightly surprised when the boy didn’t give the expected jump.

“Look up at me.” He commanded, “I want you to look into my eyes when I’m questioning you.”

Beast hastily obeyed, not truly surprised. When he raised his eyes to meet the white fabric of Master Rob’s mask he felt a stirring of humor in his stomach as a thought flashed through his mind. ‘Don’t you mean look into your mask?’ He would never dare to say it aloud though, and had great practice at hiding this humor from masters. Robin eyed the teen, looking into his humble and fearing eyes.

“What is your name?” He asked.

“My title is Beast.”

Robin frowned, looking back in the files. The files started when the boy was about eight years old, and the first accounts mentioned a ‘capture’ several times. In all likelihood “Beast” used to be an average child with strange powers and was kidnapped by the original villains. “Come on, you must have another name.”

“My masters give me any name they wish to call me. My title is Beast, but I have many names.”

“I mean your name before becoming Beast.”

The boy began to shake slightly and his voice became the toneless speak of someone repeating a lesson that had been drilled into their mind. “I am Beast, and nothing but Beast. There is no before, should be no memories other than Beast. I must forget my time before Beast, because I will never return to that time. There will be no after, for I will always be Beast. I must forget any dreams I had before Beast and never long to be anything but Beast, for Beast is the only thing I will ever be. The only dreams I shall have will be dreams to be faster, stronger, and of more use to my masters.”

Robin didn’t move, his eyes slowly widening behind his mask as Cyborg stood behind with his mouth wide open in shock. The Titan leader felt a dread stirring in his stomach. He swallowed.

“Did one of your past… masters tell you that?”

Beast nodded, praying that Master wouldn’t question him on it any more. The green boy remembered his name, remembered his past, no matter how many times masters told him to forget it. He didn’t want to share those memories with anyone, and certainly not a master, but if Master Rob asked him he would be forced to answer.

“H-how long have you been with masters? How long ago was… before Beast?” 

Beast hesitated. He wasn’t sure how long he had been with masters. The time bled together, days acting as years and years acting as days. He dropped his gaze for a moment before remembering Master’s commands and meeting the teen’s mask. “I don’t know. M-my papers will say.” He stammered at the second part. He wasn’t supposed to say anything more than a direct answer to the question. He was never to speak out, never to make suggestions or correct a master. He waited with bated breath for Master Rob to speak. To his surprise the young master simply nodded.

“I guess I should have read this before questioning you.” He mumbled, turning his gaze to flip a page in the files. He looked up at the boy again, his gaze once more harsh and serious. “There aren’t any names in here. What are the names of your old masters?”

Beast shifted in his seat uncomfortable. “I… I do not know. I am rarely told my owner’s name. I have no need for it for I am called only to obey, never to speak to the master unless questioned.”

“What about the ones that did tell you their names?”

“I am commanded to forget the names of my masters, and if I know their location I am to forget that as well.” He paused before once again adding not strictly necessary information, just seeing what Master Rob would do. “It was to make me more buyer friendly, security for the clients.”

Anger fired in Master Rob’s eyes and Beast curled up slightly, only to open up when he realized that the anger was not directed at him, but at a third part not present.

“Could you recognize them if you saw a picture?” The teen asked tersely, and Beast hunched his shoulders, knowing that his Master wouldn’t like his answer. He had been captured when he was still young, bought, sold, and stolen by dozens of masters. He couldn’t remember several of the first ones.

“Not all.” He said quietly, looking up slightly as his nose instinctively twitched and took in the scent of Master. “B-but I could recognize their scent if I smelled one.”

Robin didn’t seem too much happier at that, but once again his anger hadn’t been directed at Beast. He hadn’t seemed to mind how much extra information Beast had given either. Beast gulped, summoning up every bit of bravery he possessed as he dared to speak to Master without being spoken to first.

“M-Master? Do you wish for information on the identities of my old owners?”

Master’s head shot up in surprise and even Cyborg looked shocked. Beast felt his stomach drop as he realized that he must have done something wrong. He shouldn’t have spoken. He lowered his head in sublimation as his thin shoulders shook.

Robin quickly schooled his features. The boy had seemed so timid; Robin could hardly believe that he had offered information, especially if it was against his old masters. He shook his head. “Yes I do. What information do you have?”

Beast looked up to meet Master Rob’s mask. He didn’t seem mad at least, but the green boy tried to hurry just in case. Beast stretched his hands, attempting to pull at the leather gloves, but his hands stopped as the chains around his wrists grew taunt. Robin and Cyborg exchanged a glance. Cyborg held up the cuff’s key and Robin shrugged. The kid wasn’t going to try to run, he still had the ankle cuffs on, Raven still had the remote, and normal handcuffs wouldn’t hold a shape shifter if he wanted to escape anyways. The larger man walked up to the boy and Beast froze in fear. Did his Master think he was trying to escape? Was he angry? Was he going to punish him? He expected a blow, a stab of pain, but was left staring in dumb shock when the cuffs fell from his hands.

He looked up at his Masters in shock before standing from the chair, pulling off his warm-amazing-comfortable-purple shirt and the worn leather gloves at the same time. The boy turned his back on the Masters revealing the large brands that shone on each of his shoulder blades, the symbols slightly marred by other crisscrossing scars. Then he turned to face the Masters, holding his hands right under one of his pecks, drawing attention to the symbols on the backs of his hand and on his chest.

The two Masters had their gazes locked on him, and Beast could feel the burning stares of those outside the room as well. Again, hidden humor flashed through his mind and he wished to twitch his eyebrows at the female masters. You like what you see? But again he didn’t dare to voice these thoughts.

Robin swallowed, his eyes tracing the precise burns even as he slowly drug a high resolution camera out of his belt. The type of camera he only used for preserving evidence. He walked up to the boy slowly, as though any movement could spook him. Beast however would never have shied away, never run unless his Master willed it. Robin carefully took a picture of each brand from several angles, Beast never so much as twitching unless Robin told him to. Finally the pictures were done, and Robin wet his dry mouth. “Is this all?”

Beast nodded, his eyes glancing to the shirt though he made no move towards it. Robin noticed the movement and nodded, prompting Beast to throw it over his head before sitting down, his wrists held in prime position to accept the cuffs. Cyborg and Robin simultaneously shook their heads. He didn’t need them. Beast dropped his hands to the tabletop, his eyes following until he remembered Master Rob’s command to look him in the eyes.

Robin looked uncomfortable. “There isn’t much more I can ask until I’ve read through the file, but… No, there is one more.” His serious gaze locked onto Beast’s eyes, and the green boy felt worry stir in his stomach. “I need to know, do you like killing, hurting people, and fighting?”

Beast felt his entire body freeze. What kind of a question was that? Some masters asked him about strategy, but no one, no one, ever asked him if he liked something. And fighting? Killing? Hurting? How was he supposed to answer that? Some masters asked questions with answers they wanted to hear, was this one of those questions? Did the Masters have an answer they wanted him to give or not? If they did what was correct? Any other master would want him to say yes, but these… these Masters were weird. He didn’t know what their right answer was.

Robin could sense the boy’s indecision. “And I want the truth.”

Beast silenced a low whimper as it rose up his throat. He didn’t know the truth. He never thought about whether he liked doing something or whether it was right or not. He was worried that he would discover that it wasn’t, and he would have to do it anyways. He didn’t know if he liked it, he just didn’t.

Cyborg leaned over and whispered to Robin. “Try asking one of them at a time.”

The titan leader shared a glance with the robotic teen and nodded, leaning against the table. “Do you like killing?” He asked.

Beast felt his stomach lurch as he remembered the soulless eyes of people who had been mauled, gorged, poisoned by his venom, strangled by the strong and wiry muscles of his snake form, and torn to shreds by a predator’s cruel teeth. “No.” He said softly but surely. He didn’t like killing. Some of his inner animals gave weak protests, but even most of them saw little use in killing a creature when they would get nothing for it.

“Do you like hurting people?”

Pain flashed through his mind, the pain of a beating from his Masters and the joy on their face with the knowledge that he was in pain. Joy that they were the ones causing the pain. “No.”

“Do you like fighting?”

Beast paused for a moment before squeaking out a quiet “Y-yes.” He took a deep breath as he continued to speak, dropping his eyes to the floor. “I-I like battling and testing my strength. And I like it when I know that I have won and protected my Master or have fought off his enemies. I… I like using the stuff my masters have trained me to do, and I like the feeling of accomplishments when I know that I have done my master proud and defeated his foes. I like fighting.”

He felt exhilaration flow through him as realized that he liked to fight. He had never thought about it before, never realized that he actually liked those things. Now that he said it, it seemed so obvious. His Masters were watching him closely, and a small smile was curling up Cyborg face. Beast’s heart fluttered a little slower. His answer must have been good. Robin nodded slowly.

“Okay, I think that’s enough for now.”

Suddenly Cyborg stepped up, his eyes locked onto Beast even as he spoke to Robin. “Wait a minute Rob, I believe B has something to ask you.”

Beast looked to the cyber teen in utter confusion. Did he order Beast to ask him something and he had forgotten? What could it have been? Cyborg’s eyebrow rose and he prompted the boy once more. “We talked about it when I found him drying off.”

Suddenly Beast remembered and his form began to shake as fear struck his heart. Surely Master Cyborg didn’t want him to ask, not about something like that. He just couldn’t ask if he could shift. It was completely taboo, unheard of. Most masters hated the thought of him shifting without command. He couldn’t ask that. He would be horribly punished, beat, burned, who knew what. Shifting was not something he asked masters about ever. But… his Master had basically commanded him to ask, he had to obey. 

Cyborg cringed when he saw the boy’s fear. He had been doing such a good job speaking during the interrogation. He had seemed to lose a little of the timidity that covered him like a glove. Now it seemed that Cyborg had crossed some kind of line, and the kid was absolutely terrified again. Cyborg was just about to tell B to forget about it when the boy began to speak.

“M-Master,” He began timidly, sounding terrified and like he was the lowest of the low, as if he didn’t even have the right to speak. “Do you wish… that I have permission to change forms a-at times other than when you command?”

Robin was surprised by the question and turned back to see Cyborg looking back at the child with an ashamed expression. Beast had seemed so scared… Robin didn’t want to give the boy a change to escape but… the green kid did have the collar on after all and Robin felt like he should reward the kid after all that. He nodded.

“Nothing smaller than a rabbit, unless it is an emergency.”

Beast eyes widened as he nodded in amazement and relief, and the beginning of a smile began to form upon his lips before he forced it off, looking down to the table once more. The boy wonder turned to Cyborg. “Take him back and let him sleep for tonight; we’ll do more tomorrow after I’ve read over the report.”

Cyborg nodded and undid the ankle cuffs before leading the boy back to his cell. He smiled and pat Beast’s back as he closed the door behind him, never noticing that the boy had stopped flinching at the contact. “Great job, B. See you in the morning.”

            The lights went dark as the door swished closed behind Master Cyborg and Beast looked around to find himself in the same room as earlier. He eyed the surroundings carefully, his keen eyes able to see in the darkness almost perfectly. The green teen yawned, feeling a bit of hopelessness swirl in his stomach as he looked around. He was so tired and wanted to sleep so badly, and the darkness of the room didn’t help. Master Rob had said something about sleep hadn’t he? Beast must have misunderstood, he must of. After all, where was his cage?


	4. Perusing the Past

Robin winced to himself as the image on his screen changed once again, showing Beast in yet another training room, cornered by another faceless man who commanded him to display his some impressive skill. The skill changed each time. Sometimes they were a show of his shifting prowess, others an example of his fighting, problem solving, or stealth. The more he watched the more Robin was impressed with the green boy. And the angrier he got with his "masters".

Beast had been well trained. He was extremely skilled in the various methods the videos showed, and he always fought as though his life depended on it. Which, Robin amended as the green boy stumbled in the video and was immediately set upon by a faceless trainer wielding a large bat, he very well may have been. The Titan winced slightly, his finger held over the fast-forward button. However, he knew the importance of diligently watching through the DVD completely and forced himself through the beating. He wasn’t sure if he should be proud or worried that once the man was finished Beast simply rose back to his feet and completed the task, only a slight limp showing his pain from the intense punishment.

Robin scowled at the screen, rewinding and freezing the frame where the trainer had entered, only to audibly growl when he saw that throughout the punishment, the man never once turned his face to the camera. Just as none of the others had. He couldn’t even attempt to recognize any of the voices. The men on the videos either completely avoided talking, or spoke with a voice changer, and it was never a digital one placed by the camera, but a handheld one that he couldn’t decode. It was horrible, he had been watching the video that came in Beast’s files for an hour, as well as reading through the file itself, and so far he had found nothing about the boy’s life before becoming Beast, nor any personal information about his old Masters. It was full of nothing but stats and tests the boy had been through, as well as some basic information.

He looked up at a knock at the door, pausing the monitor before calling for the knocker to enter. He didn’t want Starfire to see some of the stuff on the videos. While the logical side of him told him that as a princess of a war-based alien society she had probably seen much worse, the emotional side of him called to protect her from the gruesome sights. He sighed in relief when Cyborg entered the room.

The robotic man nodded at the Titan as he entered, his face a little disturbed. He was holding a pile of papers in his hand. “Hey Rob, I was just doing a couple of tests with the blood I got from cleaning up B’s wounds and-“ He suddenly paused, his eyes locked on one of the side monitors next to the larger one. Robin turned around to follow his gaze. His computer had many different monitors, the main one which he had been watching the DVD on, and several others surrounding it. Many of them had been blank. Some of them had been encryptions attempting to hack into the DVD and get rid of any digital enhances put on the video. They were fairly useless, as there proved to be no tampering. Cyborg however, had his gaze locked on the second largest screen, the one showing a video feed of Beast’s cell. For the first time since he watched Cyborg leave it an hour before, Robin glanced at the video as well.

            Beast stood in the very same spot as he had when Cyborg had left, staring awkwardly and confusedly at the door. The boy shifted slightly back and forth on his feet, his gaze casting over the dark room every once in a while. The boy’s green hair stuck up crazily and haphazardly, his clothing pooling over his skinny frame. Robin glanced from the video to the larger screen, finding it hard to assimilate the timid seeming boy with the determined teen in the training video. However, at the moment there was something slightly more pertinent.

“I thought you were taking him back so that he could sleep.” The boy wonder said, turning his gaze to an equally concerned Cyborg.

“I thought so too. Wonder why he’s just standing there.” The robotic teen leaned forward slightly, his human eye worried.

Robin sighed, glancing back through the files. “According to this he pretty much only responds to direct commands. He hardly does anything without one.” The boy wonder glanced down at a picture of Beast sticking out from his file, wincing at a particularly thick scar that wrapped around his back. “He was trained well.” Robin muttered, complete disgust in his tone.

“You mean I have to actually order him to go to sleep?”

Robin nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

The robotic man began to leave to do just that when Robin called to him. “Come back here when you’re done, I want to talk about some of this with you, especially because he seems to like you the best. Also… if he seems hesitant to answer a question, just repeat it and say ‘tell me’ in front of it. Like, tell me, what is your name.” Robin scowled ruefully. “That was probably some of the only information here that would have been nice to have before the interrogation.”

Cyborg nodded absently at the brightly colored teen, his mind already locked on the green boy down the hall. If what Robin said was true than Beast must have been in an even worse situation earlier than he’d fallen asleep in the car. He turned and headed down the hall, determined to make sure the kid got some proper rest. 

Beast jumped slightly when the lights flashed on, his eyes scrunching shut as the bright light flooded his keen senses. He wasn’t too surprised though, he'd recognized the heavy clanking sound of Master Cyborg’s steps from far away and the Master seemed to be heading for him. A slight flare of hope spread in his chest. Maybe he brought his cage and Beast could finally sleep. It died when his ears could pick up no sign of the clanking of his meal cage. The only sound of moving metal was that of his master himself. Beast began to wonder if this man was his trainer-master, the one who would be actually teaching him. It was the one whom he saw the most, though it was obvious the Master Rob was the lead-master. Or perhaps these Masters would be different from all of the rest. That certainly seemed to be the truth so far after all.

Cyborg entered the room only seconds later and just as Beast had suspected there was nothing in his hand. His ears perked slightly as Master Cyborg cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Uh, hey B. It’s getting kinda late and I guess you must be tired so uh… why don’t you get to sleep?”

Beast nodded once, but he still hesitated. Where did Master expect for him to sleep if he didn’t have his cage? For a millisecond his gaze shifted to the bed, remembering of a time before Beast when he slept on one every night. However he immediately tore his gaze away, the look not sticking for long enough for Master Cyborg to notice. Beds were for Masters, not for him.

Cyborg noticed the hesitation. “What’s the matter?”

Beast hesitated. He wasn’t sure what to say. He needed his cage to sleep, but his master was commanding him to sleep when he didn’t have it. He honestly was unsure of what to do. The shape shifter opened his mouth to answer his Master, but the words died in his throat and his head fell. These masters were so strange and confusing, he just had no clue what to do.

Cyborg sighed slightly. “Uh… tell me… what’s the matter, why won’t you go to sleep?”

As if he had said the magic words, Beast’s head snapped up at the command. He was no less tongue tied, but with the command he forced himself to answer, his words coming out slowly and awkwardly. “I-I don’t have my cage.” He said softly, and Cyborg swallowed silently.

“You mean that tiny one you jumped out of at the warehouse?”

Beast nodded.

“Do you always sleep in it?”

Beast nodded again. He had slept in it ever since he had first been put in it, several masters ago. It was Perhaps his second or third master that had been the first to confine him to the cage, and he had called it his nesting place ever since.

“Well no more.” Cyborg said, a kind of furious light in his eye and he stomped over to the bed in the corner of the room. “Come over here.”

Beast, frightened of the larger teen’s sudden passion, immediately followed. Cyborg pulled the covers off the bed and pat the empty space. Beast obediently sat on the mattress, watching his master with a slight hope dawning behind his eyes. Could Master Cyborg really be leading him to what he thought?

“Lie down.” The man commanded and Beast complied, stretching out over the comfy bed. He couldn’t stop a broad grin from stretching across his face as Master laid the blanket over him, though he hid it by snuggling his smiling face into the crook of his arm. The green shape-shifter felt his exhausted eyes begin to fall as he followed through with his Master’s command to sleep. Before the blackness of sleep overcame him completely he heard the creak of his master straightening. “You won’t have to sleep in that cage again.” The robot left the room, and the darkness behind Beast’s eyes became absolute as the lights were turned off and he succumbed to sleep entirely.

* * *

 

Robin was trying to match the brands on Beast’s body with criminal records when Cyborg came in, looking decidedly ticked off. “They made him sleep in that cage, Robin. Do you remember how small that was, they made him sleep in it.” He glanced at the video screen, unsurprised that Beast was no longer sprawled across the bed, but instinctively curled up in a minuscule ball.

Robin nodded, shoving the file at Cyborg. There were a couple of pictures of Beast in his cage, some from when he was much younger and possibly first got it and others that were much more recent and showed his cramped position.

Cyborg shuddered. “That’s just sick.”

“Believe me, there are far worse things in this file.” He sighed, looking back at the screens he had been working on. “I’m trying to track down all of the people who did this, but I didn’t find as much useful information as I had been hoping. And I don’t think I’ll get anything from the kid. I would like to know about his past before becoming Beast too, but with how closed lipped he was about it earlier I don’t think I’ll get anything from him.”  

“Having any luck?”

“Not much. These criminals seem to be pretty underground, other than a couple who are already lifers in jail or dead. I can’t get any information from the videos or from the files on any of his other masters. Until I can get some more leads, we might have to just focus on trying to help him get back to normal.” The Titan leader sighed. “’If we can.” He added under his breath.

“Anything I should know?”

Robin sighed slightly and picked up a small sheaf in front of the file. “Yeah, I wanted to give you the medical files so that you can look at them. His DNA is really a mess.” The brightly colored teen handed the half-robot a small stack of papers, which the older boy gratefully accepted. “Also, I have some general information you might like to know. His only listed name is Beast, he’s 14 years old, 5 foot exactly, and refuses to eat meat.”

“He refuses? Sorry Rob, but I can’t picture the B refusing anything.”

“Neither can I, but apparently he feels very strongly about this. The video even showed how useless it was to try and get him to eat it. They beat him within an inch of his life, nearly starved him to death, and commanded it a million different times, but still he just wouldn’t eat.”

Cyborg was silent for a moment before smiling slightly. “Well that’s good I guess. Nice to know that after all that the kid still has a backbone. Even if it is over something as horrible about not enjoying the succulent wonders of meat.”

Robin smirked in amusement at his meat-loving friend. “Yeah, I guess that’s one way of looking at it. I think that’s all for now. I’ll call a formal meeting about the kid in the morning.” He glanced down at the sleeping boy in his monitors, the green child’s face locked in a peaceful slumber. Cyborg followed his gaze before nodding and leaving the lithe teen to his research.

Cyborg walked down the hallways back to his room to make sense of the medical files. He stopped short when he saw the tower's resident red-head peering through the small window of Beast’s cell, a bowl of something orange with tentacles and fur sticking out of her hands.

“Hey Star, what’s up?”

“Greetings friend! I wished to present friend Beast with a bowl of gurlghunk to welcome him to the tower.”

Cyborg sweat dropped, thinking that the kid had dodged a bullet today. “Uh, that’s nice and all Star, but he’s sleeping right now and really needs his rest. Besides,” He added, staring at the… food… dubiously. “He’s a strict vegetarian. Not sure if he can eat the gurlg- uh, whatever that is.”

 The girl looked slightly put off for a moment. “But, gurlghunk is the meal of might and bravery. Our new friend seems so fearful that I thought…”

Cyborg’s gaze softened. “That was sweet of you, but I still don’t think he’d eat it.”

The girl’s expression changed, becoming thoughtful. “Perhaps if I replace the korka tongue and laffna tentacle with zorka berries and grangog fungus, and the foijon mucus with earth mustard, it will be okay.”

“Uh, sure Star. That’s the spirit. Maybe wait till tomorrow though. You’re going shopping with Raven for B, right?” Cyborg asked, hoping desperately to distract the girl from her culinary musings.

“Oh yes, it shall be truly glorious! Do you wish to accompany us to the mall of shopping to help find clothing for our new friend?”

“Uh, that’s okay. I don’t really…”

The girl looked up to him with large, innocent puppy dog eyes and Cyborg sighed. “I guess I have to pick up some stuff to clean the T-car anyway.”

“Glorious! Perhaps friend Robin can go as well.”

“I don’t know about that. He’s really focused on reasearching the kid.”

“Oh… then I shall bring him the leftover gurlghunk to revive his spirits.” The alien flew down the corridor to Robin’s room and Cyborg shook his head after her. Poor, poor Robin. He checking though the window to make sure that their conversation hadn’t woken B, but the kid was out. He hadn’t even stirred. The half robot sighed in relief and made his way down to his room. He stopped in front of Raven’s door, listening for a moment while she chanted her familiar mantra. He was just about to continue on his way when the door swished open, revealing the gray girl, one purple eyebrow raised questioningly.

“Oh, sorry Raven. I was just passing through.”

The empath nodded. “So how is he? You’re worried about him.”

“Yeah. I just… don’t know if we’ll be able to help him.”

“He is very confused right now, for obvious reasons. I do think that there is hope though. At times I sense... strange emotions from him. Ones you wouldn’t expect by looking at him. I think he is stronger than he looks.”

“Yeah, I hope so.”

“He likes you, I think. But he’s confused about even that. I don’t think he’s liked anyone in a long time. He is unsure about the rest of us.” It still unnerved her, that great burst of fear only moments after she had healed him. Did his animal instincts sense or smell her patronage? No, that wasn’t the cause of the fear. Even if he did sense it, he would have when he first saw her. There would be no reason to react so strongly at that moment in time.

Could he have been shocked by the use of magic? No, he had seen her powers during the fight and hadn’t been worried at all while she had been healing him. It wasn’t until afterwards that he had been afraid. What was the problem then?

“Yo, Raven. What’s the matter?”

The girl jumped slightly, not knowing that her troubled musing had been so transparent. For a moment she considered telling the robotic teen that it was none of his business. He would respect her privacy and not ask again. However, maybe in a case such as this, two heads were better than one.

“When I healed Beast earlier he at first seemed pleased and grateful. However, a few seconds before you came in I sensed great fear coming from the boy.”

“Huh. That is strange.” Cyborg muttered, his gaze casting behind him as if he could see the confusing child. His mind relayed some of the pictures he had glanced at in the file and the scars tracing Beast’s body. “Maybe he’s just so used people bringing him pain, he was just surprised when you took it away. I saw some of the pictures in the files. When the kid did something wrong… the punishments were harsh.”

Raven shook her head. “I think it’s more than that.”

The two attempted to put their minds in the boy’s place. Finally, a thought struck Raven that she hadn’t had before. “I suppose if I was accustomed to an existence where I was habitually beaten I would not be pleased to see someone who could heal at will.”

Cyborg nodded slowly in understanding. “We could do whatever we wanted to him and as long as you were here it wouldn’t matter. You could just heal him if we needed to fight again.”

Raven nodded, her gaze turned back to the empty hallway, slightly disgusted now that she understood. However a small part of her was relieved that the fear truly had nothing to do with her.

“Still think that there’s hope?” Cyborg asked. Raven looked down, but those small bright splotches of happiness and humor she had felt earlier still stuck out in her mind.

“Yes, I do.”    


	5. Waking Worries

Beast woke hours later, jumping to attention as footsteps neared his cell, only to slowly slink back to the- wonderful, comfy, warm, oh so soft- bed and doze slightly as the steps continued past. He jumped up again as another set of footsteps sounded, only for the same result. As he slunk back to his bed a shadow passed past his window, though no steps were heard. Beast sniffed deeply, only to find that his sensitive nose still could not pick up the scents from the other side of the door. Still, he assumed that the third master to pass had been Master Starfire, the one who often flew.

He knew that Master Cyborg hadn’t passed; he would have recognized the sound of his metal creaking down the store, so that meant the first two had to be Master Raven and Master Robin. He lay back on his bed, half closing his eyes as he allowed his mind to wander. The first steps had seemed elegant, subdued, and calm; they were probably Master Raven’s. The second steps had been confident, in charge, light and dexterous, but also distracted. That would be Master Rob.

All three had gone to the same place, the big room with the food at the end of the hall. He wondered if Master Cyborg would be joining them. A slight voice in the back of his head wondered if he would join them as well, but he dismissed that thought almost immediately. Whatever it was, it was probably Master business.

His ears perked as he jumped to his feet once more, hearing the heavy clang of Cyborg coming down the hall. Beast doubted that the Master would come to get him, assuming instead that he would follow his friends. Regardless, he made sure to stand at attention, it was in his training. Though, admittedly in his old cage he never had the room to stand, he was called to be ready at attention whenever he heard a Master approach. His actions proved useless as the man simply walked past, following the footsteps of the other Masters.

With a patient smile Beast laid back onto his cot, allowing himself to doze once again, half listening for the arrival of his Masters. It came about a half-hour later. Beast heard the familiar heavy footsteps of Master Cyborg accompanied, to his excitement and delight, with the scent of food that even the thick walls of the room couldn’t mask.

Cyborg jumped slightly as the door opened. With how exhausted the kid was the night before, Cyborg hadn’t expected him to be up yet, much less standing expectantly in the middle of the room. Beast stood straight with impeccable posture for a boy used to a cramped cage and head bowed. He seemed to be waiting for commands, but Cyborg’s quick and analytical eye caught the glances the boy shot at the waffles that sat on the tray held in the larger teen’s hand.

Cyborg chuckled as he entered the room, setting the plate on the bed. “Take off your shirt real quick so I can check on that big burn on your side.” The robotic man said nothing as Beast obeyed, watching as the kid’s eyes continually shifted to the food. He eyed the bandages critically before patting the bed. “Go ahead and sit down. I’m gonna have to redress your wounds while you eat anyways. Dig in.”

Beast wasted no time in following the man’s commands, sitting down and attacking the proffered meal. The breakfast was incredible to the nearly starved boy. The waffles were soft yet crunchy and the syrup was so sweet. He could barely remember the last time he’d had something so sweet.

Cyborg smiled softly at the smaller teen’s gusto before turning back to the wounds. They were healing really well, faster than normal in fact. It would make sense that Beast would heal quickly, he supposed. The largest one on the boy’s side was still fairly nasty, but nothing compared to the night before. At least the pain didn’t seem to be bothering the kid, unless he was really good about hiding it. The robotic teen frowned. He wished the second option wasn’t so likely.

The frown all but disappeared when he looked up from his medical supplies to see that Beast had finished the stack, his tongue working to slurp up the syrup dripping down his face. “Looks like you like waffles. Good, you’ll fit in here just fine.” He chuckled, but Beast’s expression didn’t change. Had Raven been there, she could have told the titan about the trill of surprise and joy that flashed through the child, but she wasn’t so Cyborgs chuckles trailed off awkwardly. Beast liked these Masters, he thought. He liked the food at least, and the rest and the healing at least.

Cyborg handed him back the shirt and Beast quickly pulled it over his head. Oh yeah, he liked the clothes too. He jumped as Master spoke again.

“So, B, how’d you sleep?”

Beast was tempted to tell his Master what an incredible and deep sleep it had been, but he remembered that he was talking to a Master and his tongue failed him. In the end he simply muttered, “Good”.

“Good, you seemed exhausted last night.” He rose to his feet. “Alright then. I’m heading to town with the girls, I’ll be back in a few hours.” Beast wondered slightly why his Master was telling him any of this, but didn’t dare to question him as the teen continued. “We’ll take care of some other things then. I’m sure Rob’s going to wanna talk to you again, but I’m gonna try to convince him we don’t have to go through the trouble of dragging you to the interrogation room. Not like you’re gonna hide anything from us after all.”

That was right; he wouldn’t hide information from his Masters. He felt a pang of guilt about hiding his memories about before Beast the night before but squished them down. He never told any Masters about before Beast, why would he feel bad about not telling these ones?

Beast, shaking off the thoughts and still unsure why Mater Cyborg was telling him all of this, nodded once. The robotic teen smiled at him kindly before grabbing the medical supplies and empty plate and left the room, leaving Beast alone once more. The boy remained on the bed, staring at the closed door mutely. What was he supposed to do now? With most masters he barely had enough time to rest to keep him from complete exhaustion, forget about relaxing, but Master Cyborg said he wouldn’t be back for a few hours. What was he supposed to do until then?

            Beast idly shifted into the form of a cat, stretching his tight muscles. Suddenly he froze, his heart thudding fearfully in his chest until he remembered that Master Rob had given him permission to shift. He sighed in sweet relief, slowly allowing his body to change back to his human form. As he changed a thought struck him, a child of his trained and ingrained paranoia. What if this was just a test? What if they were just seeing what he would do if left alone for a few hours?

Jumping up to his feet the boy shifted into a fox and began sprinting around the room, stretching the limits of his lithe form. He wouldn’t fail this test; he would show that he was a hard worker, dedicated only to his training and to his Masters. The Masters would like that. Part of his mind argued with him, insisting that if this wasn’t a test then he was exhausting himself for nothing. Even worse his Masters would expect this of him whenever they did give him time to rest. He wouldn’t like that. However he continued to run, knowing that if this was a test and he failed then the punishment would be so much worse.

The fox thundered in circles around the small room, part of him wishing he was a cheetah. Now that was a run, exhilaration running through his veins and wind whipped through his fur, his legs thundering into the ground. Unfortunately, the room was too small for that. Even as a fox he was getting dizzy. He knew that the running would be better in a smaller form, but even though Master Rob told him he could go as small as a rabbit he would make sure to show his obedience by not only staying larger than a rabbit, but also by not even getting close to the size of the rodent. Still, he was dizzy, time for something new.

With a leap he became a large eagle, only to find that he could barely fly at all. He shifted back into human form, glaring critically at the restricting walls before smiling slightly. As small as it seemed when attempting to exercise, it was worlds bigger than his old cage. He began slowly shifting through animals, speeding up until he was wearing and shedding forms at a lightning fast rate. He ran through his entire arsenal of medium to large animals twice before going back to his human form and sitting down on the bed, panting slightly from exertion. Shifting didn’t really bother him, but doing so much so fast was strenuous.

He glanced at the sink for a moment, plugging it up and letting water pool at the bottom. He turned into a large Great Dane, lapping at the sweet liquid.  It was nice getting water whenever he wanted, not waiting until Master called for a break. As he had his full he reassumed human form and turned off the faucet. The changeling shifting back to dog to lick up what remained in the sink, loath to let such precious liquid drip own the drain.

            Beast dropped to the ground, human once more, swinging his legs up onto the low bed and placing one hand on the floor at the center of his chest. His eyes clouded as he settled into the well-known position, remembering hours of torturous exhaustion at the hand of Masters. His arm began to shake at the thought, but he pushed the memories out of his mind, resuming the regiment he still wasn’t sure he had to be doing. He began to do pushups, quickly at first than slower as he tired. At one point in time he brought his other hand down, resuming top speed as both arms worked to propel him. When that slowed as well he dropped his feet off the bed, going back to one hand. He finally ended with normal pushups, breathing deeply as sweat pooled down his green skin.

He whimpered lightly as he stood, his wounds protesting each movement. His hands glanced across the large burn on his side, the bandages hidden behind his new and sweat drenched clothes. Slowly he lowered himself back to the ground, lying on his back and beginning to do a set of crunches, working hard to ignore the burn of his side wound. Suddenly he stopped, hearing light footsteps coming his way. Beast rose to his feet and stood at attention, recognizing the footsteps of Master Rob. Now he would know if he had passed the test. His heat beat wildly, hoping and praying that his master would be pleased. He didn’t know what to expect as punishment if he did things wrong. He could only hope and pray that he did it right.

The boy stopped his frantic thoughts as the scent of delicious food flooded his senses. Food? But he’d already had a meal today. His heart floored with happiness. This was a reward. He had passed, it was okay. The boy allowed himself a grin before hiding it once more as his Master entered, looking to the ground as the door to his cell slid open.

* * *

Robin hadn’t gone shopping with the others. He had too much work to do. He had to go over the videos, search for clues, have all of the informants he knew poke around and see if they could find anything, not to mention the paperwork the chief of police faxed him for taking custody of the kid. He sighed softly. He hadn’t been expecting it to be this troublesome. His mind flashed back to the scars tracing the kid’s back and chest and his absolute terror when approached. Robin decided that no matter how difficult it was, he was immensely happy that they had gotten the kid out of that situation.

At breakfast he’d held an informal meeting, telling the girls what he had told Cyborg the night before, though without the visual aids. Starfire had seemed excited at the prospect of helping out their “new green friend”, her eyes lighting cheerily with the confidence that they would surely be able to help him, the alternative never occurring to her. Raven never changed expressions, saying little during the meeting. However, she met eyes with Cyborg and the eldest Titan knew that she was just as hopeful.

            The girls and Cyborg had left almost immediately after Cy had brought the kid his breakfast. Starfire had been shimmering with anticipation while Raven simply looked like a death row patient, muttering that she was just going to stop the Tamaranian from dressing the kid like a clown. When the group had left Robin immediately locked himself in his room, going over anything and everything that seemed useful and filling out the mounds of paperwork. A few hours later and he had made little progress.

Robin glanced at the clock, wincing when he saw that it was already past noon. Usually he would have pressed right on with his work, never even giving a second though to lunch. But… with a glance at a picture of a particularly emaciated Beast he knew that the kid needed plenty of food if he was ever going to get to anything resembling normal weight. For the first time he looked at the security feed, starting when he saw that Beast was working on pushups as if his life depended on it.

What the heck was the kid doing? Robin thought the kid would take any chance that he could to relax. Though, looking back at the training his past masters had put him through Robin could understand if the kid wasn’t exactly used to down time, maybe even suspicious of it. But the kid wasn’t healthy. He was half-starved, stressed to no end, and littered with wounds. He needed time to recover, not work himself to death before he even made it to the training room. the Titan leader would have to tell the green boy to take it easy. Beast wouldn’t ignore a direct command. Once again doubt wedged into the boy wonder’s mind. Could they really make this kid normal? Or at least as normal as a green shape-shifter could get.

The teen opened the same window on the main screen, rewinding it to the time when Cyborg came in and vowing to watch it after he fed the green teen. Maybe he would see if something triggered the work out session. Robin grumbled to himself as he saw the green boy wince slightly and begin to favor his injured side. Without wasting a moment more he went down into the kitchen, thanking his lucky stars that they had some leftover pizza from when the alarm had interrupted their dinner the night before. It was only a day old so the blue mold shouldn't have overcome it yet, right? He hoped so.

Beast was standing in the center of the room at attention when Robin arrived with the microwaved pizza and a string of bandages in hand. The boy wonder sighed slightly and nodded to the bed. “Sit down and let me look at your side.” He said gruffly, plopping the pizza in Beast’s lap as the teen obeyed.

Beast didn’t move as the plate fell onto his legs, his mouth watering as the scent flooded his senses. He had never eaten pizza before, but it smelled incredible and it was right there, in his lap. Still he restrained himself. After all, if being left alone had been a test, then this probably was too. Master Rob was making sure he wouldn’t eat without permission and testing his self-control. He wouldn’t fail these tests, he hadn’t forgotten how much other stuff his masters could punish him for. He didn’t want to make it worse.

Robin pushed up Beast’s shirt, grimacing when he saw the red of blood beginning to seep through the bandage. He looked up as he began to unravel the cloth strips around the shapeshifter's thin waist, frowning when he saw that the plate sat untouched. What, did the kid not like pizza? Robin didn’t think that he could afford to be too picky considering the circumstances. Maybe he… oh. Robin felt a sure of anger at Beasts old Masters.

“Go ahead and eat.”

Beast tore into the cheese pizza, an ecstatic expression in his eyes. Robin grimaced when he saw the green teen’s gusto. He must have been starving to still be so hungry. Still the teen leader said nothing and simply let the boy eat as he applied the new bandage.

Beast watched the boy wonder out of the corner of his eye as his wound was fixed, humor rushing through his mind though he kept his face neutral. Did the Masters always bring food when they were checking his injuries? He would have to get hurt more often.  
Robin waited until the last crumb of pizza was gone before he spoke. “Look uh… Beast, er B was it? I appreciate the… enthusiasm but I don’t want any more spontaneous training sessions any time soon, got it? You’re not healthy enough yet, especially with your side still so bad. I want you to relax.”

Beast nodded once, his eyes locked on the empty plate on his lap. He refused to raise his head to meet Master Rob’s mask, knowing that he couldn’t keep the wonder and relief out of his eyes. He curled his toes to keep himself from shaking, amazed at his master’s words. Master was telling him to relax. It was so… different. It wasn’t a test. It never had been a test. He didn’t have to work and his master was telling him to take a break. That had never happened. It was always work harder, get stronger, run faster, go longer. It was never stop, wait, rest.

Robin stood uncertainly. “Uh, okay then.” He murmured awkwardly before taking the plate and leaving the room, looking back at the dead-still Beast as he left. Once Robin left Beast breathed out a sigh of relief and allowed his trembling to show, a secret smile tearing across his face. He shifted to a comfortable lynx form and curled up on his pillow, a low purr rumbling through his chest as he drifted off to sleep.

Robin fell back into his seat with a huff. Beast had seemed so freaked out when he told him to relax. Poor kid had been completely confused; he probably still didn’t really know what to do. Robin looked back to the live feed, expecting to see the kid sitting in the same spot as earlier. He smiled when he saw a green furry blur on the pillow instead.

Turning back to the main screen to watch the morning’s footage, he frowned as he realized the boy was already standing ready when Cyborg entered. Exactly how much sleep had the kid gotten? He rewound a little more, his frown disappearing when he noticed that the kid had been in bed seconds before the robot entered. However it came back with a vengeance when he saw that the kid had gotten up a few moments earlier. As the tape continued its backward run Robin saw that the kid awoke each time a Titan came past. He would have to talk to Beast about that.

Ignoring the observation for now, the titan fast forwarded back to when Cyborg entered, turning up the previously muted volume. He analyzed the conversation, but could see nothing that could have acted as a trigger. In fact, the green changeling had seemed fine until he’d suddenly started a few moments after turning to a cat then back to human. After that the kid had forced himself through a torturous exercise regiment, stopping only when Robin neared.

Robin began caressing his forehead in stressed irritation. That’s not to say he wasn’t impressed with the kid, actually he was intrigued by the boy’s skill with his power and his strength. However, he didn’t like that exhausting himself was the kid's go to response when left alone. This wasn’t going well so far. He sighed and turned back to the screen as the part he was watching faded into his earlier conversation. He watched idly as the Robin on the screen left the room, eyes turning back to some of the paperwork at his desk. He jumped as the screen began to rumble, his mouth gaping in shock as he recognized the sound as a wildcat’s content purr. He smiled softly. Maybe it wasn’t quite so hopeless


	6. Merchendise and Musing

Raven grumbled to herself as Starfire held up another shirt. In all honest, the shirt itself wasn’t really that bad. It was actually fairly fashionable. The problem came when the empath imagined the bright yellow on the light green teen. “Starfire, for the last time we need clothing that won’t clash with his skin.”

            “Oh yes, that is right. I had the same difficulties last night.” The alien sighed as she put the shirt back. She frowned as she cast her gaze around at the shirts adorning the walls. Her gaze became contemplative. “Then green is also out, along with the neon and the yellow. Perhaps red?”

“He already looks like an elf with those ears of his, let’s not push it.”

“Hmm. I am afraid I cannot picture blue fitting him well either, and if he  wore brown we may easily lose him in a forest.” The girl sighed. “How unfortunate. The only colors that we may purchase are the same ones which I had bought last night.”

The dark girl shifted awkwardly as she attempted to cheer the alien up, but she didn’t exactly do ‘happy’.

“Don’t worry girl, I think B really liked the stuff you picked out yesterday.” Cyborg’s voice rose behind them and the two girls turned to see the large teen laden with grocery bags filled to the brim with food. Starfie’s eyes lit with joy.

“Truly? He enjoyed the clothes?”

“Of course. Now try and hurry up. We gotta get back before all this tofu crap melts.”

Starfie nodded, already searching through the racks of clothing. Raven sighed and rose to join the girl, stopping when she saw a small out-of-place bag upon the cyborg’s arm.

“What’s with the pet store bag?”

“Oh, I just thought that B would be bored for a while when we were out on missions so I got him a toy to play with.”

Before the empath could ask, Starfire was back, completely buried in a pile of purple and black outfits. “Friends, I have found some clothing that our new friend may enjoy.” Said the girl’s happy voice from somewhere within the pile. “Do you wish to see?”

“Uh, that’s okay Star. You don’t really need to-“

However, the alien paid him no mind, instead joyously laying out and displaying the many outfits. Cyborg winced and cast a pleading eye at Raven, hoping she would get him out of it, but the empath simply smirked. He sighed internally as he pretended to pay attention as Starfire lay out more and more outfits, internally simply happy that the girl was using Robin’s card to pay for all of this. He frowned as the girl held up the last pair of jeans, one of the only things she picked out that hadn’t been mainly black or purple in color.

“You sure those are going to fit him? The kid’s pretty small.”

The red-head seemed to deflate slightly. “I am aware that they are too large. However, these are the smallest sizes that seemed to be long enough.”

“It’s okay Star. We’ll feed him and he’ll put on some weight in no time.” Cyborg glanced at the waistband of the pants and pictured the kid’s emaciated form. “Until then, he may need a belt.”

This time the two less shopping inclined titans went with the enthusiastic girl, searching the store for the thin strips of fabric. Finally they found one, going into the children’s section to make sure they got one small enough. Numbers flashed red as Cyborg’s robotic eye brought up the information from the files Robin had given him. “Get one that goes down to about 24 inches. Man, we gotta get him some food.”

Starfire barely had time to nod before she began perusing the thin bands. She cast a longing glance at the pink, sparkly, and flowery options before forcing herself to turn to the more boyish designs. She was just reaching for a handsome leather one when Cyborg spoke. “Might not one a leather one. Like I said last night, the kid’s a strict vegetarian. I don’t know his reasons but if it’s something to do with animals then leather won’t be the best choice.”

The girl put her hand down again, her eyes immediately brightening as they alighted upon another belt. Triumphantly she held up the thick, shiny silver band with a large circle at its center. “Oh, it is perfect.”

“Uh…” Began Cyborg, unsure of the metallic belt. An image of the metallic grey collar around the kid’s neck flashed through his mind. However, to his surprise Raven nodded, a half-smile on her lips. Starfire’s eyes lit up at the nod.

“Joyous! Then we may proceed to take our purchase to the register of monetary value.”

Cyborg said nothing, knowing that any argument would be futile if both of the girls agreed. He followed the females to the cash register, taking half of the large pile of clothes out of Starfire’s arms when it became obvious that she couldn’t see. Why the girl hadn’t grabbed a cart, we may never know.

The two Titans dumped the load at the first open register, and Cyborg grinned at the shocked face of the clerk as they eyed the large wardrobe. However, the girl simply sighed and began ringing them up. When only a few items remained, Cyborg caught Raven lay a pair of silver gloves on the counter. The girl caught his eye, silently daring him to say something. The half-robot looked down at the sturdy-looking fabric gloves before wisely deciding to stay silent. However, he couldn’t keep a grin from sneaking on his face. The kid really needed the new gloves.

Finally they left the store and headed back to the car, Raven slipping into shotgun and silently forcing Starfire to sit back with the many bags. As Cyborg fell into the driver’s seat he glanced at the clock and winced. It was well past lunch. He’d been hoping that the girl’s wouldn’t take so long. Though knowing Star he should have known better. He sighed as his baby started, silently hoping that Robin had come out of ‘investigator mode’ long enough to feed the kid. For a moment he considered calling the spikey-haired teen, but thought better of it. He was going to be back at the tower soon anyway, he would ask Rob then.

“Where exactly are we going to keep these?” Raven’s voice broke him out of his thoughts as he caught the girl giving the bags a dubious look. Starfire was frowning, giving the bags a calculating glance as though discovering the problem as well.

Cyborg frowned, following the girl’s thought process. The containment cell they had B in wasn’t exactly well furbished. It didn’t have drawers or a closet or anything, really. And they couldn’t just leave the clothing in a pile on the floor. They could get something from another room, but the cell was far from large. There would hardly be any room left if they brought in any extra furniture. Not to mention that everything currently in the room was made to ensure that no villain could get an advantage out of it and bringing in a set of draws would leave the kid open to getting nails, long boards, and metal or plastic strips. Cyborg trusted the kid, kinda, but he could never be sure. 

“I suppose we could simply have the clothes remain in one of the extra rooms and allow him to choose an outfit before he bathes,” Starfire began. “However it seems strange that he would be separated from his belongings.”

“It’s okay Star. From the look of him he isn’t really used to having more than one outfit. I don’t think he’d know what to do with himself if we just dumped a bunch of clothes in his room.” Cyborg frowned as he realized how true the statement was. A cold hand seemed to grip his heart. Poor kid probably hadn’t had adequate clothing in ages. The feeling remained throughout the rest of the ride, dissipating only as they pulled into the garage.

The three Titans grabbed the bags and began lugging them into the tower, Raven dropping her load of groceries in the kitchen. Cyborg looked up as the bags landed on the counter before glancing around the room. To his surprise, Robin was watching the big screen. It was paused at the moment, stuck in the middle of a fighting scene.

“How was shopping?” The boy wonder asked distractedly.

“Oh, it was most joyous! First we-“

“So Rob, how were things here?” Cyborg interrupted, saving the Titan leader a play-by-play that would doubtless have been longer than the entire shopping experience. To his surprise, Robin scowled. There was a light pitter-patter of keys as Robin brought up a new window on his screen. The teens were silent as they saw the shape-shifters self-inflicted training. Robin’s scowl deepened as he paused the film.

“I caught him at it at lunch and made him stop. He’d reopened some of his wounds, I had to redress them.”

Cyborg grumbled audibly, making his way across the room. “You talked to him about it, right?”

“Yeah. Last time I checked up on him he was taking a nap.” The boy wonder brought up another screen, showing a live feed of Beast’s cell. The green teen was in human form and sitting on his bed against the wall. The boy looked deep in contemplation, his eyes unfocused as he huddled against the wall.

Cyborg nodded, turning to the two girls. “Wanna come with me to give him the clothes?”

“Of course!” Starfire trilled.

“Pass.” Raven intoned, beginning to put away the tofu with a slightly disgusted look on her face. Cyborg chucked. At least he wouldn’t have to put the crap away.

* * *

Beast woke from his nap in less than an hour, feeling better rested than he had in years. He’s stretched his limber cat muscles, his mouth gaping in a waking yawn. Slowly he had shifted back to human, looking around the room at a loss about what to do. He almost felt… bored. Suddenly his face spit into a grin and he laughed out loud in the empty room. He couldn’t remember the last time he was bored. He’d missed it.

The laughter faded at he looked to the security corner in the far corner, reminding himself that his masters could be watching. With a sigh he sat on the bed and fell against the wall, closing his eyes as he thought. Then again, who knew what these strange masters would do if they caught him laughing. Everything else was opposite after all. Who knows, they may even like it.

His eyes slit open and he bit his lip softly as his brows furrowed in thought. These strange masters. They were… odd. They didn’t act anything like Masters, didn’t do anything the way that they were supposed to… the way he was used to. Beast’s eyes lit up. He had time. These backwards Masters had given him time to rest, and relax, and think. Maybe he could use it to try and figure out what their motive was in acting so different, what they gained from all of this. After all, with Masters there was always something to be gained. His eyes glanced down at the new clothes. Wasn’t there?

He shook his head to stop himself from double-guessing his thoughts. No, he needed to remember the facts. He wasn’t good at planning, at thinking things through. That was for Masters, he usually just had to do what they said and react to anything that went wrong. This wasn’t a battle; he didn’t know how to plan. No, facts. Use the facts. What was the first strange thing the Masters did?

            Maybe it was back at the warehouse. The boy’s hand brushed against his metallic collar. Yeah, after the battle Master Rob never used the remote. He could have, any other master would have, to show dominance or ownership or even punish him for fighting. In fact, they never did punish him for that. Or for getting blood on the car, or sleeping, or talking too much, or even for shifting. He gulped and curled up on himself. Were they just waiting? Biding their time until there was a lot to punish him for? But, it would have been an opportune time. He was already injured after all and would need time to heal before being at one hundred percent. Why wait until he was recovered? Maybe they didn’t have time. After all, if they defeated his old master then it would be make sense that they would take over his old empire. Then again, the battle was loud. It probably attracted the police, meaning that they would have taken the warehouse. Then again, hadn’t he seen the police when Master Cyborg led him to the car? The officers hadn’t said anything, never lifted a finger to stop his Masters. He paused for a moment in wonder. The Masters were so young, yet they were already so powerful that they controlled the police of their town.

 But then, didn’t Master Cyborg say he was going shopping with the females. If that were the case then they couldn’t possibly be that busy. Maybe… maybe they hadn’t seen the file yet and didn’t know they were supposed to punish him for those things.

Or maybe, a small voice, a voice of long ago, from the time before Beast, spoke. Maybe they aren’t going to punish you? What if these guys aren’t like the other Masters?

Beast Froze, wanting the voice to be right. However, he knew from experience that it seldom was. He sighed slightly before ignoring it and continuing to think about the oddness of his Masters. His mind went to their gentleness. Master Cyborg had touched his shoulder or his head many times, but never did the touch bring pain. And the red-headed one, she was always smiling at him. None of his Masters were ever that happy, and certainly not because of him.

Master Raven had healed him, though he supposed that wasn’t entirely strange. If his old masters had that power, they might have healed him at times too so that he would be healthy and strong while fighting. He froze. Maybe that was it.

The good food, the rest, the healing and clothes, they were just making sure he was in prime condition when they used him. Master Rob didn’t mind him shifting because it kept his powers fresh and he told him not to train earlier because he wanted to wait for the wounds to heal. He’d asked questions about liking fighting and stuff to know what to expect from him and what he was best at. It all made sense.

No it doesn’t. The voice said again. They don’t act like Masters and you know it. Master Cyborg is too gentle. Master Raven had actually looked worried about his wounds. Master Rob had actually liked the longer answers. Master Cyborg said you were going to ‘fit in just fine’. That doesn’t sound like a Master talking to Beast. 

But this is the only thing that makes sense. The boy argued to himself, feeling desperate. He was just so confused, he just wanted things to make sense and nothing did.

Maybe… maybe they don’t want you to be hurt. People didn’t always just want to hurt you, remember?

But… that was when I wasn’t Beast.

So? They are so different. You know that they don’t seem to want to hurt you. Masters Rob and Cyborg had seemed so angry when you showed them the brands. What if they were mad at the old masters, the ones who gave you the scars? Master Cyborg had been so angry when you spoke about the cage. Maybe he was mad because he didn’t like that you had to suffer.

Stop. No, that can’t be true. That isn’t what Masters are like.

Maybe they want you to be comfortable, to not be in pain anymore.

Beast audibly growled at the thought, hiding his longing behind a flash of anger. He commanded the voice to be silent, knowing that if it continued then he would long for what could never be. He couldn’t risk dreaming of a better life only for it to be yanked away when reality broke in. It would crush whatever heart he had left. These were Masters, he couldn’t forget that. They didn’t care for him. He was their pet, guard dog, obedient slave. He wasn’t human; it didn’t matter if he was happy or sad, only that he served his Master and served them well. He was Beast. He couldn’t forget that. 

Sufficiently squashing the usurping thoughts, he relaxed once more. After all, even if his master were different than usual and strange, he would just have to get to their new rules and serve them as he would any other master. It couldn’t be that difficult, right? Until then he was just going to have to stick with his first theory about them wanting to keep him healthy and serve them as he would any master, no matter the strangeness of their requests.

            A half-smile flickered across his lips. At least if they wanted to keep him healthy, it was more likely that he was a long term investment. Maybe they intended to keep him longer and he wouldn’t be carted off from Master to Master. His mind fell to his full stomach and the two delicious meals he’d had that day as he gazed around his cell, one much more spacious than the cage he was used to. He smiled softly. He wouldn’t mind staying for a while.


	7. Content Cleanliness

The green boy jumped to his feet as footsteps neared, his ears perking at the familiar clang of Master Cyborg. He must have gotten back from shopping with the female Masters. The door slid open only moments later, giving way to the form of a smiling Cyborg, Starfire floating over his shoulder to grin at the green child. Beast jumped slightly, keeping his face down to hide his curiosity. He hadn’t expected the girl, nor had he expected the large bags that each of them carried.

“Hey B!” The robotic man called kindly as the pair entered the room.

“Greetings to you, new friend B.”

Cyborg pat the stool that still sat beside the bed. “Sit down. Star and I have something to show ya.”

Beast obeyed, cocking his head to the side as he sat. He eyed the bags, fighting to keep his curiosity from becoming overtly obvious. Starfire and Cyborg both dropped the parcels to the floor beside the bed, and the girl immediately knelt to rummage in one. Moments later she pulled out a t-shirt and jeans with a flourish. ‘Tah-dah!’, her smile seemed to say, though she didn’t actually speak. The girl was content to watch Beast’s expression as shock and wonder took over.

His gaze turned from the outfit in the girl’s hand to the bags littering the floor. Could they really all contain clothes? And could they all truly be for him? No. It was impossible. But… His breath caught as the girl began speaking, explaining that the outfit she had been showing was for ‘the hanging out’. She pulled out another, one of purple and black spandex and spoke of training. Sweats appeared, socks, underwear, even a pair of boots. He soon became overwhelmed and could only sit in stunned silence as the girl emptied the last few bags, his eyes unseeing and his ears mute.

His mind went back to his earlier musings, now more confused than ever. The small inner voice vied for attention, but he was too numb even to notice. All those clothes, all for him. They looked so nice, comfy and new. It was unbelievable, incredible. It was… it was… He jumped when Cyborg’s hand landed on his shoulder, jerking Beast out of his broken thoughts.

The robot was smiling sadly at him, while the alien girl floated beside the bed, her grin stretching across her face. Cyborg shook the boy slightly. “Go on kid, it’s all yours.”

Slowly Beast rose, his legs shaky as he staggered to the bed. He leaned against the frame, staring in shock at the clothes that littered the mattress. There was a large hole in the fingertip of one of his gloves. He gently slid the finger over the clothes, marveling at the soft textures.

Slowly, a smile began to steal across his face, breaking out into a grin the likes of which no Master had ever seen. He grinned at the new clothes, his eyes lighting with happiness. These were his, all his. These Masters had given him all of these clothes and- Masters! He jumped, dropping the smile and cringing. Beast looked up to his Masters in fear, terrified that they had seen and would be furious with him, as any other Master would have been. To his surprise they were beaming at him. Cyborg’s smile fell when he saw Beast’s fear and the robotic teen knelt beside the green boy.

“Hey B, we like your smile. Don’t be so afraid to show it more often.”

Beast’s expression didn’t change, nor did his fear falter. He wasn’t supposed to smile. He was Beast, he wasn't supposed to be happy. He was supposed to obey the master and nothing else. Smiling would make the Masters think they were going easy on him, that he wasn't trying his best. It would lead to more beatings, stricter training, less food, until his joy was wiped out. Lucky for him they had never succeeded in destroying it completely, only in making him hide it deep within himself. That’s were his smiles belonged, hidden in his mind and heart, not out in the open like this where Masters could see and interpret them as they wished.

The boy grit his teeth and turned away from the Master and back to the bed, carefully constructing his face to become a neutral mask that Raven would be proud of. However, the look didn’t last long. His attention was caught by a bright sparkling on the bed. Cocking his head to the side once more, the boy reached out for the shine. He looked with surprise and interest at the metallic belt that he found. He hadn’t seen Master Starfire pull it out of the bag. It must have been after he zoned out. It was so… shiny. So pretty. He shook it slightly, feeling his heart leap in excitement as it threw light upon the wall. Gloved fingers brushed the smooth metal as the boy’s head continued to cock back and forth as he stared in interest.

Starfire giggled at his reaction and even Cyborg chuckled, finally understanding why the girls were so certain that the kid would like the belt. He was like a magpie, or a raccoon or fish, transfixed by the shiny metal and their own reflection. Beast looked up with a start as they chuckled, and his green face turned brown as he blushed.

Cyborg straightened, looking over the clothing with a critical eye before turning to the Boy. "Alrighty then. You can’t keep your clothes in here, but why don’t you pick out some sweats to sleep in for tonight?”

Starfire began helping to put the less sleep-friendly clothing away when she saw Beast staring at the sweatpants and T-shirts at a complete loss. The alien grinned and quickly came to his aid, pairing the some of the tops with the bottoms and chatting happily to the nearly silent boy. Unsurprisingly he simply chose the first outfit Starfire had recommended, picking out a pair of socks and underwear as well.

Finally he noticed the new gloves. He gently held them, treating them with the all the deference and care as if he were handling the crown jewels. Wonder shone in his eyes as he breathed to himself, "They aren’t even leather,". Immediately the child’s head shot up, his gaze shooting to Cyborg in fear. The Titan pretended not to hear, picking up the rest of the clothes and dumping them into a bag before handing it to Starfire.

“Can you go put these in a room? I’m gonna take the kid to the bathroom to take a shower. By the smell of things he needs one.”

The red-head nodded, flying down the hall to an empty room. Beast followed the cyber teen as the Titan led him to the bathroom. He watched as his Master puttered around the room uncertainly, grimacing as he looked down the drains and at the vent in the ceiling. Cyborg turned to Beast uncertainly for a moment before straightening and screwing his face into an expression of stern command. “Alright kid, I’m gonna let you shower but I need to know that you won’t change into something small and slip down the drain or something. No shifting until you’re done, got it?”

Beast nodded, smiling in his mind at the irony. He would never even have thought of escape had the Master not mentioned it. Not that he would consider it now, of course. He had several scars proving how useless it was to attempt to escape from Masters. Cyborg frowned, not entirely satisfied with his response.

“I mean it B. I gotta know that I can trust you to stay in here.”

“Yes, Master.” Beast said with another nod. Cyborg jumped. He began to say something before he visibly deflated, his words dying in his throat. He gestured at the shampoos and soaps lining the tub.

“You, uh, can use whatever you want. I wouldn’t recommend Star’s stuff though; you might end up smelling kinda funky.” He opened a cabinet and pulled out a towel, tossing it to the boy. “How long do you think you’re gonna take?”

“I can bathe as quickly as Master wishes.”

Again Cyborg jumped at the title, but Beast pretended not to notice.

“Look B, you don’t have to… I’m not… none of us are your…” He sighed. “Fine. Just take as long as you need; no time frame for now. Knock when you’re all done.”

Cyborg left the room, leaving Beast alone. The green boy gently placed the clothing on the sink counter, keeping it well away from the water splashed around the basin. He glanced uncertainly at the shower as he began to remove his clothes. His masters had always given him a set time to shower, promising punishment and pain if he were to go over. He wasn’t sure what to do now. Then again, that was becoming pretty common with these Masters. He never knew what to do anymore.

With an internal sigh he bit his lip and made his way to the shower. Just because his Master didn’t tell him to hurry didn’t mean that Beast should keep him waiting. The boy turned the shower nozzle to as red a setting he could get, experimenting slightly. He stepped into the spray, smiling in ecstasy as the water began to warm and only turning the dial down when the it became absolutely scalding.

He bathed quickly, as years of two to three minute showers had trained him to do, and simply stood under the cascading hot water until he decided that his Master would soon become impatient.

The boy's ears perked as he finished drying off. Master Rob was speaking to Master Cyborg in the hallway. For a moment he considered eavesdropping, something frighteningly easy to do with his sensitive ears, but he knew that the action would be frowned upon, even with Masters as strange as these.

The boy couldn’t stop a small smile from lighting across his face as he put on his sleepwear. For a moment his happiness overshadowed the confusion that seemed to constantly surround him. The clothes were just so warm and comfy. And the gloves fit perfectly. They felt stern and strong, and no poor animal had to give their life in their making. He flexed his fingers experimentally in the silver fabric, enjoying the way the cloth melded with his movements. Finally he knew that he had kept his Master waiting long enough.

He sighed as the happiness dissipated slightly, confusion taking its proper place at the forefront of his mind as he felt the small dart of fear that always came from being in a Master’s presence. The green teen knocked twice before stepping back and awaiting his Master.

Cyborg had waited until he heard the shower running before leaning against the wall and relaxing, pulling out a gaming consul to play the original Mega Monkeys. He had to pause it only seconds later when he heard Robin’s crisp steps coming down the hall. The boy wonder’s mask was tilted in a quizzical expression.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Just waitin while B takes a shower.”

“He’s in there alone?” The boy wonder’s wide eyes turned to the door, his mind obviously running through the many escape options Cyborg had checked only moment earlier, and doubtless several others that the robotic teen would never have considered. “Did you at least set up some kind of surveillance or something? Anything?”

“Relax Rob. Green Genes was practically in shock at getting his new clothes, not to mention he’s scared to death of us. Besides, we still have that remote.”

Robin frowned, obviously not convinced that the boy wouldn’t take his chance at freedom. Cyborg took the moment to drive in another point. “What do you want me to do Robin, spy on B while he showers, keep him from bathing until you know we can true him? The kid is trained to follow orders. I told him not to try any funny business, he’ll listen.”

If any point got through the boy wonder’s thick skull, it was the last one. He had seen part of the boy’s training firsthand via the video. If the punishments for attempting to escape were half as bad as the training itself then the changeling would probably have given up a long time ago. Finally Robin nodded. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice. Just keep an eye on him.”

 “Will do. Hey, when you go back to the kitchen would you mind getting a pan ready? I grabbed stuff for my famous Cy-burgers for dinner. Get one out for the kid’s tofu crap too, would ya?”

Robin nodded and began heading back to the kitchen as his stomach growled faintly. Just because he remembered to give Beast lunch didn’t mean that he wouldn’t forget to feed himself. Cyborg called after the spiky-haired teen before resuming his spot against the wall. “And don’t let Star near the food.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The cyber titan had just begun to resume his game when the small rap-tap of knuckles on wood sounded from behind the door. Cyborg frowned as the knock sounded, tucking away the small device. He hadn’t been paying attention to the kid at all once Robin arrived, he didn’t even notice the shower turn off. So much for keeping an eye on him. The robot’s frown deepened as he realized how short his conversation with the boy wonder had been. He looked at his internal watch. Seven minutes. The kid had been alone in the bathroom for only seven minutes and he was already done, showered, dressed, and everything. The robot forced a smile as he led the boy back to his cell, but said nothing. The kid showered with speed like he was in the army. No, faster.

            Nothing was really wrong with it, no moral problems, no emeotional scars tied to quick showers, but to Cyborg it was just another thing that these “masters” had done to the kid to mess him up. The robotic titan could almost hear them ordering the boy, caked with layers and layers of sweat, dirt, blood, and grime to finish his shower in five minutes. Four. Three.

            He sighed as he locked the kid in his cell, making his way back to the common room to make supper. He just had to remind himself that it was still early on and they had a long way to go. It was just the first day. The kid would relax, he would heal. It would just take time.

Beast looked nervously at Cyborg as the large teen left the small room. His Master hadn’t said anything after Beast got out of the shower. Had he done something wrong? Did he take too long? Most Masters would have just punished him already and he wouldn’t have to sit here and worry about what he did. Was that it? Was he going to be punished, for whatever reason, and that was why Master Cyborg was quiet?

But if they were planning on punishing him why had they waited so long? Beast sighed to himself, he was just as confused now as he had been that morning. He shook himself, his mind going back to the resolve he’d made before they had given him the clothing, to serve his Masters just as he had all of the others and not think as much.

The green boy leaned back slightly, bringing up one hand to brush through his slightly damp hair only to stop when a flash of silver caught his eye. He smiled and the new gloves, flexing his fingers and moving his hands in all different ways to test them out. They were great; supple and comfortable while remaining stiff and strong.

He jumped to his feet, bouncing slightly to get the feel of his new boots. They matched the gloves! He chuckled to himself before running in place slightly to get a feel for the new footwear. The boy stopped almost immediately when he remembered Master Rob’s command not to work out. The shoes weren't bad, they were sturdy and had good arch support he supposed. The problem was they felt so weird. He’d had his old shoes for ages; they were so well broken in that he doubted anyone else would ever be able to wear them. Then again, he couldn’t see why anyone would ever want too. They were close to falling apart; at least these were strong and firm. They fit good too, the old ones were just starting to pinch his toes.

The boy jumped when the door began to slide open, scrambling around to stand in ready position. He’d been so concentrated on the new clothes that he hadn’t noticed his Master’s footsteps. In fact, he had no clue which one had come this time.

The shape shifter was slightly surprised when Master Raven came into the room, her face expressionless as usual. “Sit.” She commanded coolly and Beast sat. Luckily he was close to the bed or else he would have simply fallen to the ground.

She came up to him, her hands glowing white as she neared. “Cyborg said that your wounds were healing well, but I wanted to see for myself.”

Beast forced himself to sit still as the white magic flooded into his mind, checking for traces of the concussion she’d healed yesterday. He wasn’t unaccustomed to magic, some of his old masters had wielded it, but it was something you never truly got used to. As her magic probed his body for injuries he felt a flash of humor run through his mind, recalling his thoughts from when Master Rob had given him lunch before treating his injuries. The words were at the tip of his tongue, though he knew he would never dare to speak them aloud.

Hey, if you’re gonna play doctor then where’s my food?     

Just that moment the door opened again, heralding Master Cyborg’s arrival. “Hey B, brought you some dinner. Eat up, it’s some tofu crap, but there’s no meat so you’ll probably like it.”

For a moment the room was silent, Beast staring at the cyborg in shock. Suddenly his head shot down and the boy stared intently at his lap, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laugher. He bit his lip, struggling to keep from busting a gut. No, he couldn’t laugh now. His Masters were watching. He dug a thumb into one of the wounds on his legs, breathing in sharply as the pain radiated through him and put an abrupt end to his humor.

            His laughter gone, the boy looked up, seeing concern and confusion on Master Cyborg’s face and pure confusion on Master Raven’s. Cyborg came closer and set the plate down on the bed next to him. “You okay? If you don’t like the tofu…”

Beast shook his head, picking up the burger to show that it wasn’t the food that had bothered him. He sniffed the patty experimentally, his heart soaring as he realized that there was no meat in it whatsoever. He hid the smile threatening to show by biting into the burger, relishing in the flavors that flooded his mouth. _Three meals a day_ , he thought with humor as he took a few more large bites _, I’d better start watching my weight. A few more days of this and I’ll start to look normal_. 

Suddenly he froze, the last bit of the burger centimeters from his open mouth. This was his third meal that day. He’d eaten more in a day and night with these Masters as he had in a week or two with others. He wasn’t hungry. The thought hit him like a brick wall. He wasn’t hungry. He had never not been hungry. It was incredible. Why were these Masters giving him so much food? Such nice clothes? Such a large room? A bed? Why were they so different?

“You okay B?” Cyborg asked, and Beast jumped.

“You Masters-“ He stopped himself, his heart growing cold as he realized that he had almost said you Masters are so weird. Kind or not, no Master would allow that without punishment. “I… Thank you.” He finally settled on with a whisper, his eyes going to the ground as he swallowed his last bite of food. Cyborg put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and Beast was shocked to find that he didn’t even flinch at the contact.

“No problem, B.”

Raven shook off her confusion and began healing the boy again, though her expression still had a streak of bewilderment behind her stoic mask. She frowned when she reached the wound on his leg that he had re-opened. Glancing up at him she narrowed her eyes, but his bowed head gave nothing away as she healed the small injury. None of the other marks merited and powers, they were healing too quickly on their own. Even the large burn on his side would be gone in a matter of days.

            She stood and nodded before silently leaving the room. She was almost out the door before turning around and addressing Cyborg. “Here,” She called, tossing a plastic bag at him. “I think you forgot about this.”

The robotic Titan looked down to see the pet store bag. “Oh, thanks Raven.”

The girl nodded before walking out. Beast cocked his head to the side, looking all the world like a curious puppy before realizing what he was doing and putting his head down once more. This time when Cyborg touched his shoulder he did flinch, worried about some breach on conduct. The robotic teen sighed before picking up Beast’s plate before rummaging around the bag and standing up to leave. He was almost to the door before turning around with a grin and throwing something at the boy.

“Catch.”

Beast’s hand shot up, closing around a fist-sized blue ball made of dense rubber. He stared at it with something akin to shock. Cyborg grinned at his expression.

“Advertisement says it’s the strongest bouncy-ball made to man. Supposedly it was tested against lions, tigers, sharks, you name it. It should last you a few days. I figured you’d have a lot of down time while we tried to figure stuff out… plus you’ll have to stay here when we’re all on missions. Hopefully it'll keep you from getting too bored. From what I hear from Robin, you aren’t exactly comfortable with free time anyway, this’ll give you something to play with.” He trailed off, realizing that he’d begun rambling. “Enjoy, B.”

Beast didn’t move as Cyborg left the room. His eyes were locked on the small round ball. It was… a toy. There was no ultimate goal to it, no training involved, no work or punishment. It wasn’t a reward, he had done nothing significant enough to be rewarded. It had no practical use like clothing or food, no purpose. It was a toy, a… gift.

His breathing quickened. He had never been given a gift. His hand went numb and the ball fell out of it. However, his ears perked and his shock dissipated as he heard the sound of rubber bouncing and the ball jumped back into sight. He reached out a hand and snatched the toy before it could bounce again. His confusion and shock dissipated as animal instincts, primarily a dog’s, took over. Well, Master Cyborg did give it to him to play with after all.

He threw it up in the air. The ball rose to about an inch away from the ceiling before falling to the floor. It began to bounce when suddenly it was caught in the maw of a large mastiff. With a trust of his head the dog threw it again, changing into a lime Dalmatian before tossing it again. He pounced as a cat, turning into a monkey to throw it against the wall, watching it ricochet around the room before leaping and snatching it up it the jaws of a ferocious wolf.

 

He gnawed on the bit of rubber for a moment, pleased that even his powerful wolf teeth didn’t damage his new toy. Struck with a new idea he laid the ball on the floor, batting it with his paw to send it rolling across the floor. With a leap he jumped in the air, transforming into the form of a hawk he dive bombed the ball as though it were a field mouse. He rose to the ceiling before diving on the bed, rolling on the cushion and laughing breathlessly to himself as he shifted to his human form. This was the most fun he’d had in forever! He cackled for a moment in joy, cradling the ball in his green gloved hands before throwing the ball and starting all over again.

 


	8. Internal Interrogating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, the site wouldn't let me do Rich text and the formatting is really strange if I try to do it on HTML.

Cyborg entered the living room only a few seconds later, surprised to hear Robin chuckling and Starfire absolutely raving about how cute something was. When he entered the room he found all eyes glued to the large TV screen taking up space near the windows. The robot joined his team for a moment before going to grab his own burger, (Finally, he was starving!) though he wasn't exactly sure what he was looking at. All he could see was a green blur running around some room- wait a minute. That wasn't any green blur, it was their blur. It was Beast. He was shifting into different forms at a seconds notice, jumping around the room in a frenzy, always after some small blue- the ball! He was playing with the ball.

 

Cyborg laughed, the sound coming out more relieved than humorous, though it was no less filled with joy. He filled up a plate and joined his friends on the couch. The small group watched the boy with varying expressions from relief to downright joy. Even Raven had the almost-smile she got when extremely content. They watched until the boy seemed to exhaust himself of his game and curled up on his bed in the form of a lapdog and began contentedly gnawing on the hard rubber.

 

Starfire coo-ed at the small creature. "Please, may we take him to the park and play the fetch?"

 

Robin frowned. "He's not really a dog, Star. He's a psychologically damaged boy."

 

"I dunno Rob, I actually think he would like it."

 

"Or be too afraid and confused to move once we take him outside." Raven intoned, and Cyborg winced as he realized that she had a point. The larger teen squirmed as he tried to change the subject. "So Rob, you gonna grill the kid again tonight?"

 

The boy wonder nodded. "I'm no psychologist but I want a peek at the kid's mind. None of the files gave much information on Beast's mental state except a brief period when he was taught reading, writing, some physics, anatomy, and anything else that would help make him into the perfect weapon.  I assume it's because none of these masters ever cared about what was going on up there as long as he was following orders." As Robin spoke disdain became more and more evident in his voice, finally leveling out to what could only be described as outright contempt.

 

The room was silent for a moment as the group stewed on his words, finally Raven spoke. "I can't tell you exactly what he's thinking but I can give you an insight on his emotions so far." She offered and Robin looked to her expectantly, silently urging the empath to continue.

 

"He feels everything very strongly, much more than one would guess looking at him. Even his fear, which is fairly visible, is much more intense in his mind. His primary emotions so far have been fear and confusion in equal amounts along with several instances of pure shock. " No one looked happy at the news but the girl continued. "He felt the most fear last night. Now its mostly confusion and shock. The troubling thing is that the shock is most prevalent in cases where one would assume that the boy be happy, almost like he forgot what joy feels like to the point of not being able to experience it. However, he seems pretty happy now with the ball, so that is improvement."

 

She breathed deeply. She'd wanted to get all the bad news out first and now she was finally moving on to the good.

 

"Despite all this I keep on getting flashes of... humor from him at odd times or intervals."

 

"Humor?" Robin asked skeptically. The grey girl nodded.

 

"Yes. It is almost as though he were entertaining himself with jokes in his mind. His expression doesn't change at all. At first I thought my powers weren't reading it correctly but then it happened again. And again."

 

"What does he find so funny?" Cyborg asked in confusion but the girl simply shrugged.

 

"I don't know. I feel it at odd times. Such as when you brought the boy his supper."

 

Cyborg's eyes lost focus as he delved into thought, attempting to discover what the kid had been thinking. A silence ascended upon the group, not broken until Robin said that it was time to talk to the shapeshifter. Cyborg eyed the video feed, feeling a brittle happiness at the sight of the boy chewing on the ball contentedly. "Not the interrogation room. He doesn't need that; plus I promised him that I'd convince you to do it a different room."

 

"I doubt that he cares what room its in," Raven interjected, eyeing the green boy.  "He probably won't even notice."

 

"Yeah, but I don't like questioning him like some kind of criminal. Plus it'll be good for him if he sees me keep a promise, it'll help build his trust."

 

Robin nodded. "It'll help him to see all of us together too. I don't think he's seen us all since the fight at the warehouse."

 

Cyborg nodded and made his way back to Beast's room, stopping at the door to collect his thoughts. This time he was unsurprised to see the boy standing ready in the center of the room, shoulders straight and head bowed. Cyborg forced a grin, the expression becoming real when he saw the slobbery and slightly mangled toy on the bed. "Hey B, you like the ball?"

 

He saw Beast's eyes slide to the bed. A ghost of a smile flittered across his face for an instant and the boy nodded twice.

 

"Good! C'mon follow me to the main room, Robin wants a talk with you."

 

The green boy stepped forward until he was only a foot away from the cyber-teen, looking up at him expectantly. Cyborg led him to the main room, watching the boy as they made their way through the tower. Beast's eyes were continually moving, as though attempting to memorize anything and everything about the building. He paused slightly when the door opened to the main room, but continued before anyone would notice.

 

Raven was the only one still seated, Robin was standing at the computer and Starfire stood floating a few feet above the ground. The alien smiled as the door opened. "Greetings friend!" She called, looking at him in his new outfit appreciatively. The clothes were still slightly baggy but they fit much better than the old ones had.

 

Robin glanced up at the two and nodded at them as Cyborg led the green boy closer to the group. Beast looked tiny, his short and malnourished form dwarfed by Cyborg. The green boy walked stiffly, feeling fear blossom in his stomach. All four of his Masters gathered together, watching him. He trembled slightly. He had long since forgone the idea that he would be punished by these Masters for anything that he'd done so far, but the fear and worry remained.

 

There was a moment of tense awkward silence, as though the Masters weren't sure what to do. Finally Starfire flew over to the startled green boy.

 

"I believe we have not yet introduced ourselves to you, friend. My name is Starfire of Tamaran. These are friends Raven, Cyborg and Robin."

 

Master Robin, not Master Rob, the boy thought, sliding his eyes to the leader and taking note of the changed name. The lead Master looked surprised for a moment and nodded at the girl before continuing the introduction. "We are the Teen Titans. We aren't like the... people who had you before. They were criminals and we stop criminals, fight them and put them behind bars."

 

So they were the 'enemies' that his old Masters were afraid of. People like the police. But they weren't the police, they were the people that his Masters feared more than the police, the ones he was trained to fight against. "Heroes." He mumbled, jumping when he heard the words escape his lips. He hadn't meant to speak out loud.  To his surprise Master Robin nodded. Beast relaxed slightly. At least now he knew why these Masters acted so weird. If they were the enemies of his old masters then it would make sense that they acted the opposite of them.

 

Master Robin was messing with a little yellow device, and a few seconds later Master Cyborg pulled out his own. He looked at it for a moment before regarding Robin strangely. Walking over to the couch, the robotic Titan sat down, patting the seat next to him. "Why don't you sit here B?"

 

The green child began to move to the seat, but then Master Robin's voice sounded. "No, I think you should stand." His voice didn't have its usual ring of authority, instead it sounded as though he were conducting some type of experiment. Still, Beast stopped, awaiting further commands. Out of the corner of an emerald eye, Beast saw Robin give Master Cyborg a meaningful look. The robot-man caught it and called again.

 

"It's okay B, just sit down."

 

It was a test! Beast didn't move. Master Robin told him to stand. He was the leader, Master Cyborg was not. Master Robin's rules were to be followed above all. The spiky haired teen nodded to himself but Master Cyborg just looked confused.

 

"Rob, what was that all about?" Robin didn't answer, instead staring intently into Beast's emerald eyes.

 

"Beast, why do you listen to me over Cyborg?"

 

Beast felt a stab of fear. Did he do something wrong? "Y-you are the lead-master. You have the most... the most authority." His words faltered at the end and he dropped his gaze, unsure of how his Master would react. However Robin just nodded, filing the information away.

 

"Whose next? Cyborg?"

 

Beast nodded.

 

"Why?"

 

"He is Trainer-Master. I-I think."

 

"What does that mean?" Cyborg asked before Robin could speak. Beast shot a glance at the Titan leader to make sure he had permission to answer before speaking.

 

"The Trainer-Masters are the ones that work with me the most, that train me."

 

"Do you always have uh, Trainer-Masters?" Robin asked and Beast shook his head. Robin frowned at the response. This wouldn't work if the kid never talked. "Tell me more."

 

"With my first Masters there were only one or two Masters that were both Lead-Masters and Trainer-Masters but... I kept getting more expensive so more powerful Masters bought me. After a while they became too powerful to train me themselves and set up trainers for me. But I was to obey my main Master above all."

 

"You've had a lot of Masters, did they all have the same rules for you?"

 

"No." Every Master had different rules, that was the worst part about being sold. The first few weeks were horrible until he learned how to act.

 

"How did you cope with switching so often?"

 

What was with all of these odd questions? "I followed the rules of my previous Master until told otherwise."

 

"That seems dangerous.” Robin replied, concern easing into his voice. “Didn't your Masters punish you if you went against their rules?"

 

Beast nodded, his mind flying in attempt to figure out where all this was going, why they were asking so many odd questions. The Titans shared a glance.

 

"How long did it usually take you to adjust?"

 

"A week or two." Although, he was pretty sure it would take longer to get used to these Masters.

 

Robin nodded, looking down at some papers. Finally he spoke. "You've had that collar far a long time. Tell me about it."

 

What was there to tell? He'd probably read all about it in the file. Beast wasn't sure what to say. Why did these Masters want him to talk so much? Usually Masters wanted him to say as little as possible. He hated the collar, didn't want to talk about it. But he had to obey Master.

 

"I- I- The collar was... put on me by one of my first Masters. The second or third I think.” He looked up at Robin and the spiky haired teen nodded for him to continue. “That same Master was also the one who first had me sleep in my cage. T- the collar can grow and shrink as I do, which means that it will never have to be replaced as I age. It’s purpose is to ensure a quick punishment should I not follow orders as well as prevent me from escaping." His words were dull and rehearsed, an advertisement he'd heard a million times. "The cage was made it so that if I tried to turn small and sneak between the gaps the collar would shock me. The same thing would happen if I tried to grow big and big and bust out. If I didn’t give up my escape attempts it was designed to keep on going until… until I died.”

 

Beast glanced up at his Masters. Was this the kind of information they wanted? The three on the couch were all staring at him with varying degrees of shock, anger, sadness and… pity? Was that pity? Maybe, it had been a while since Beast had seen that emotion, he barely recognized it. Master Robin however, seemed completely emotionless. He nodded as though beckoning the green boy to continue. Beast cast his mind out in attempt to find more information.

 

            “It was also made to make me more… marketable. I was trained to obey the one who had the controller, not one specific master. That way if one of my old owners appeared to fight a new one, the current master would not have to worry about me betraying them. But sometimes that went wrong. If another master wanted me, all they had to do was st- steal the controller.” Like you did went unsaid, but each Titan heard it.

 

“So the entire purpose of this collar is to ensure that your masters would have complete and total control over you, correct?” Robin questioned.

 

Beast nodded.

 

“And you’ve had it for years, right?”

 

He nodded again.

 

“What would you do if it were gone?”

 

Beast stood stock still, gaping at Master Robin. What kind of question was that? He was Beast, he always had the collar on; he always would have it on. There was no ‘gone’ when it came to the collar, it was as much part of him as his arm. It was like asking what he would do if he didn’t have masters it- it- it was exactly like asking what he would do if he didn’t have masters. No collar meant no control, which meant he was free.

 

Free. It was like a foreign word, a bizarre concept. He couldn’t comprehend it. He was Beast. Beast was controlled by Master. There was no ‘collar was gone’, no ‘no master’, and certainly no ‘free’. Beast shook his head, taking a tentative step back as confusion gave way to panic and fear. He couldn’t answer his Masters questions. The only things these Masters had told him to do was answer questions and he couldn’t even do that. Oh, he was finally going to get punished now, he could feel it. He didn’t know what to do.

 

“Robin,” Raven cautioned, staring piercingly at Beast. Robin held up one hand to silence the girl as Beast began to stammer a reply.

 

            “I- I don- don’t kno-”

 

            “Don’t say that you don’t know. Calm down. I don’t want you to answer right away. I want you to think about it. Now, think and tell me what you would do without the collar.”         

 

    Beast looked down to the ground and fisted his hands, forcing his racing heart and mind to calm and slow. Calm down, he thought to himself, it is just a thinking exercise. Some Masters did those, giving him different scenarios and telling him to plan and think it through. He had to treat this like another one of those.

 

Okay, what would he do if his collar was off? Be free! A part of his mind interjected, but he cast it off. What would being free entail? He wouldn’t be with Masters anymore. But then where would he go? What would he do? He could go out and live with the animals, but that seemed lonely and boring. He also didn't know if his body could survive solely on plants and such. He couldn’t try and live with humans, he was Beast, not human anymore. Even if he was still human, he wouldn’t know how to act or live. He looked too different too with the green skin and pointy ears, no. How would he get food? He could always steal but that was what Masters liked to do and he didn’t want to be anything like the masters. He couldn’t pretend to be normal.

 

 He couldn’t go back to the place of his past. His parents had died long ago. The man who had took him in before the masters got him had been very old, who knew if he was still living. Also, the first masters had caused much destruction when catching Beast for the first time that the boy couldn't be sure that he was still welcome.

 

            With every option gone, he was forced to answer what he wanted to admit least of all. “N- nothing would change.” He whispered sadly. He would have nowhere else to go, trapped forever into bondage with his Masters even when given the token of freedom.

 

            “What?” Robin asked, surprised at the boy’s answer.

 

            “Nothing would change. I would remain loyal to my Masters.”

 

            “Why?” Cyborg asked, sounding desperate and desolate.

 

            “I-I have nowhere else to go.”

 

            Robin was silent for a moment before nodding, but he turned to the boy. “Alright. So you have to stick with your masters, but they wouldn’t have complete control over you anymore. Are you sure that nothing would change?”

 

            There was an extremely long, tense moment as they awaited his answer. Finally the boy spoke. “I wouldn’t be stolen so easily. I wouldn’t be sold.”  He said in a tiny voice. “I wouldn’t follow the commands I really really didn’t like.” He whispered, almost inaudibly as though ashamed of revealing this truth to his Masters.

 

            “Like what?”

 

             “Killing.” He whispered, remembering Master Rob questioning him about it the night before. “Stealing, kidnapping, terrorizing, torturing. Training guard dogs how to attack to best immobilize an intruder and where to bite to cause the most pain without killing them. O-one Master made me turn into and find rare animals and lead them straight into a trap so that he could have them as trophies. I wouldn’t do that anymore. I wouldn’t do any of it.” His voice had gone louder and louder as he spoke, until he was nearly shouting at the end. When Beast realized this he dropped his voice down. “I wouldn’t do any of that, but I would be loyal to my Masters for anything else.”

 

“Who would your Masters be?” Raven asked, causing everyone to turn to her. "If your collar was gone you could go to any master you wanted. Who would it be?”

 

Robin nodded, seeing the logic. “The truth.” He commanded as Beast once more paused to think.

 

            He would follow the Master he liked the most. He realized. The one least likely to do any of the things he didn’t want to do. The ones who treated him best. That would be these Masters, who had given him clothing and plenty of food and a bed and took care of his wounds and got him a toy and didn’t punish him and- suddenly his mind cleared and with it came with the peace of finally understanding something that had been confusing for a long time. That was why these Masters had been so kind. They wanted him to stay if he ever got out of his collar. If his collar was gone he couldn’t be stolen, it would ensure that he always belonged to them. It finally made perfect sense.

 

“I would remain loyal to you.” He answered. Masters Cyborg and Starfire grinned at him, but Masters Raven and Robin remained expressionless. Cyborg stood, seeming surprised but excited about the night’s revelations.

                                                                                     

“So Rob, do you want me to go get some tools and-“

 

“No.” The colorful teen commanded, not looking away from Beast. The green boy was looking at Cyborg With large startled eyes. Surely they didn’t really mean to take off the collar, did they? Not now. The collar was the only thing consistent to his life before these Masters, they couldn't take it away too. Luckily, Master Robin had no intention of removing it. “I told you, this was just to figure out where his mind is. I don’t trust him yet. He still has his Beast-Master mentality. I’m not taking the collar off."

 

Robin watched as Beast seemed to relax, disturbed that fear of the unknown was greater than his fear of pain. He turned to Beast. “You have a long way to go before we get to that point. For now, you listen to me on everything, got it?”

 

“Yes Master.”

 

The boy wonder frowned. “Let’s start with that. I want you to listen to us, but we aren’t your Masters. Call me Robin.”

 

“Yes, Master Robin.” The boy answered, flinching when his Master sighed in irritation.

 

“No, no Master, just Robin. Got it?”

 

“Yes, Robin Sir.”

 

“No. Don’t call me sir. Just Robin. Got it? Robin.”

 

“Yes, Robin.” He cringed. He would be beat to kingdom come if he dared to address any other master like that.

 

“Same goes for everyone else. They aren’t Master, aren’t sir or Madame or miss. Just Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire.”

 

“Yes M-, Si- R-Robin.” That was going to take getting used to. He hoped he wouldn’t be punished too badly when he messed up.

 

“What are you going to call us?”

 

“R-Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire.”

 

“Good.”

 

Suddenly a red light flashed and alarms began to blare. Robin flipped open his communicator with a panicked look. His eyes scrolled across the screen and he turned to Cyborg. “Take him to his room and meet us on main as fast as you can. Titans go!”

 

He and the girls were gone in an instant. Cyborg rushed through the halls with Beast hot on his heels. The green boy was brimming with curiosity but did not question his Master about what was going on, simply followed as he was hurried back to his small cell. He watched with wide eyes as Cyborg slammed the door shut and ran away. Slinking up to the door of his cage, the green boy sniffed the air. There was a hint of fear in the scent of his Master now, one that had been invoked in all of the Masters when the alarms started. Not as though they were terrified though. It was fear mixed with adrenaline. They were going into a fight.

 

He made his way to his bed and curled up in a corner against the wall. For the first time ever he felt afraid for his masters rather than of them. He knee that these Masters were strong, they had proved that in their fight with him, but if his Masters were so strong than their enemies must be just as strong it stronger. He didn’t know what was going on, if they were okay. He didn’t know if the kind female with the smiles and clothing was uninjured, if the soothing one with the healing magic was harmed. He had no way of knowing if commanding but not harsh Robin was faring well or if kind and concerned Cyborg was okay. He didn’t know the fate of any of them. His fingers found the blue ball and he clutched it in both hands, curling into a ball and hoping that these Masters, the first to be kind to him in years, would be okay.

 

When the sounds of them returning met his ears hours later, the titans sweaty and tired but none the worse for wear, Beast officially decided he did not like the alarms.


	9. Explict Exploration

            Cyborg looked up from his spot on the couch, barely hiding a grin as he pretended to non-committedly flip through channels. Starfire was out on patrol and Robin had to talk with the Chief of Police about Beast. Now all he had to do was wait until Raven left to go grocery shopping and he would be alone with B. The empath was all out of tea and flatly refused to let anyone get it for her. She could only get it at this one creepy bookstore. She stayed there for hours after getting the tea so Cyborg had almost the whole day before anyone else came to the tower.

 

            He looked up as the girl made her way to the door, shopping list in hand. “See ya Raven!” He called out but the girl didn’t look up. He jumped to his feet the instant she left the room, making his way to Beasts cell. It had been two weeks since Robin had interrogated him in the main room and the shape shifter hadn’t been allowed to leave the room since other than to take the occasional shower. The Titans had all taken some time during those weeks to go into the kid’s room and talk to him, Cyborg and Starfire going the most often. In fact, Cyborg had taken to spending almost all of his free time with the green boy. He took whatever he would have been tinkering with in the garage into the room and worked on it while he talked to the boy.

 

            Beast was almost completely silent during the talks, sometimes Cyborg would swear that he was talking to an empty room. That led to some awkward confessions at times when he forgot that someone else was listening. It was almost like in the movies when someone was getting ‘therapy’ or advice from someone who turns out to be asleep the entire time. Except the complete opposite. Cyborg would say some big secret or give insight in the depth of his mind, almost speaking to himself, only to see a pair of bright green eyes staring at him intently.

 

            It was the worst the first few days. Beast would be standing at attention when the titan entered the room and would remain in that position until Cyborg told him to sit, then the teen would sit at attention. At first Cyborg told the kid to relax, but seeing someone force themselves to appear at ease because they were ordered to was almost painful to watch. He would only answer direct question too, ones that had no chance at being rhetorical and if it were obvious that Cyborg was speaking to him. He never responded to anything.

 

            Beast was getting better though. He still stood at attention when Cyborg entered, but he began to sit with no prompting. After a few days he began to really relax, leaning against the wall of his cage as the robotic titan kept up what was still basically a monologue. He had even taken to throwing the little blue ball to himself the day before, his gaze locked onto Cyborg as though expecting to be reproached. About a week into the talks he answered his first indirect question, grunting in agreement about some statement. The Titan wasn’t sure who was more surprised at the time, him or Beast. The kid looked like he expected to be killed for the noise but Cyborg smiled and continued what he was saying. As the days wore on the boy became more and more at ease. He would make some sort of noise or gesture for nearly every question Cyborg asked.

 

 Eventually, about three days ago, the kid worked up the nerve to comment on something without being asked. This time Cyborg tried hard not to hesitate too long, knowing that the silence would give the kid time to panic and think he’d done something wrong. He’d smiled and agreed, trying and see if the kid would elaborate but he’d closed up slightly after speaking.

 

Cyborg wished that each victory, each step in the right direction, didn’t scare the kid so much. Every time he stepped outside the box his old Masters put him in he seemed terrified, as though expecting to be reprimanded or punished for every little thing. Yet the little guy was working through the fear enough that he’d made three comments the day before, one of which might have even been a joke. He was smiling occasionally now too, something that he used to be terrified to do.   

 

Despite what Cyborg saw as big improvement, Robin was still paranoid about letting the kid around the tower. He kept on promising to take Beast to the training room “soon” to see what he can do, but he’d started saying that ten days ago and the green kid was still stuck in his little cell. As “trainer-master” Cyborg decided it was his job to show the kid around, so he would. What Robin didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

 

Cyborg knew something was off from the moment Beast’s door opened. The kid was standing at attention as usual but he had a distinctly guilty air about him. As the Titan entered the boy gave a small gasp and moved his foot to cover something. Frowning, Cyborg stepped closer to the child.

 

“B, what are you hiding?”

 

“I-It’s nothing important.” Beast replied, squirming slightly under pressure. The larger teen eyed him dubiously. If the kid was this bad at lying his masters probably caught him every time he did something wrong.

 

“B,” He said warningly and the kid’s ears drooped. He moved his foot, revealing a tiny piece of mangled blue rubber. Looking down at the piece then back at the kid, Cyborg finally noticed a small bump on the bed under the covers. He tore off the blanket, revealing the rest of what had once been a heavy duty bouncy ball. Beast looked to the ground, seeming ashamed and terrified, but Cyborg just laughed.

 

“Is that all? Don’t worry B, I knew it wasn’t going to last much longer. I even put it on the grocery list this morning. You should have a new one in a couple of hours, don’t sweat it.”

 

The green boy looked up at him with wide eyes. His Master wasn’t mad? He expected this to happen? The tension flooded from his shoulders and the boy relaxed, only to tense up again as the Titan’s expression turned serious. Cyborg sat on the bed and pat the mattress next to him. Beast followed the silent command, refusing to meet his Master’s eyes. The larger teen laid a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulders.

 

“Look B, I’m not mad at you about the ball, but I don’t want you to hide this kind of stuff from me, got it? I’m not going to hurt you for something as stupid as this. I’m not going to beat you or punish you. The worst I would ever do is yell, I swear. I would only hurt you if I had no other choice, got it?”

 

Beast nodded, keeping his eyes down. He had never had a master promise something like that before. Cyborg smiled softly and ruffled his hair. “Okay then, pick up as much of that junk as you can so we can throw it away.”

 

Beast did as Cyborg said and scrambled to his feet, the ball pieces collected in his hands. Where was he going to throw it away, there was no trash can in his cell. Was he going out? Was he going to take a shower? It couldn’t be, he usually showered at night, right before going to bed. It couldn’t be night already could it? He’d only had one meal today. He smiled mentally at the thought. Never would have thought he’d use only and one-meal-a-day in the same sentence.

 

Cyborg seemed to sense his confusion. “I’m gonna show you around the tower today. Must be boring stuck in that room all of the time. None of the others are here, but I can still give you the grand tour. So what do you say, should we go from the top down or the bottom up?”

 

Beast started when he realized that he was supposed to answer the question. “Uh, whichever way you want, Cyborg.”

 

The larger teen frowned, considering for a moment making the younger boy decide before deciding against it. “Alright then, why don’t we start at the bottom? We can check out the garage and I can show you my baby.”

 

A baby in the garage? Beast thought, confused. He eyes the teen’s robotic parts. What? Did he make one?

 

However when they arrived the garage was curiously lacking in children. Instead, Cyborg pointed a flourishing hand at the vehicle stationed in the center. “There it is! The T-car! I made this baby with hours of work and my own sweat and blood. I know you were already in it once, but you didn’t get to see any of the awesome enhancements it has.”

 

He led Beast to the car as he spoke, detailing all of the advancements his car had to offer. Beast hardly paid attention; he didn’t know anything about cars. Usually when traveling he was in his cage in the back with all of the rest of the cargo. He didn’t know a steering wheel from a cup holder. Cyborg seemed excited enough though, so he pretended to listen. His eyes searched vainly for the bloodstain he had made that first night, but it was gone. Master Cyborg must have cleaned it up already.

 

Next the large teen showed the green boy into the loading dock where the T-sub, which could apparently turn into a T-plane, sat. The robotic Titan once again went on a rant about technology as Beast inspected the small pods curiously. There were five for some reason, despite being only four titans. He looked to Master Cyborg in confusion. The large teen caught his glance. “Oh yeah, I made the sub so that the pods can all come apart and work separately and it just happened to work better with five than four. Besides, if we ever needed the sub then we’ll need the extra space for the bad guy we catch. Maybe someday you can come with us.”

 

Beast smiled softly at Cyborg, amused. If he was really going with them, he wouldn’t need to be in any submarine. He could always just shift and swim alongside. He didn’t point this out however, simply following as He was led into the next room. The robotic teen led Beast up the tower, showing various storage rooms, a small library, the place where they kept the sparing material, an evidence room that he wasn’t allowed to go in because Master Robin would find out and get mad. They skipped over the main room because Beast had already seen it, simply walking through it on their way to the rest of the building.

 

Beast was led to the hallway where all of the bedrooms were, peeking into Robin’s and Starfire’s and completely avoiding Raven’s. Cyborg proudly showed off the machinery in his room, showing the boy the tech that kept him up and about. Finally they made their way to one of the many empty guestrooms, where Cyborg showed him the closet and chest of draws that held all of Beast’s clothing. It was a nice room, bigger than his cell with walls of dark colors and a small bunk bed against one wall. Cyborg smiled when he saw the kid in the room. It looked like a good fit. Too bad it would be a while before he could stay in it so long as Robin had a say.

 

After the guest rooms Cyborg showed Beast the gym and training area. Beast had spent a while amid the machinery, studying it and mentally comparing it to that of his old masters. After a while he looked to Cyborg expectantly, as though waiting to be ordered to start doing something, but the Titan shook his head. “Not today, B. Maybe some other time. C’mon.” He led the boy out, Beast casting one last glance back into the room. It had been such a long time since he had tested his muscles, checked his strength. He shifted slightly before following his Master, his eyes still roaming the halls. He had kept careful observation of the tower, making sure to memorize each window, door, vent, and power box, just as his Masters had always trained him to do.

 

Cyborg stood beside a final door, looking unsure and nervous. His hands kept glancing towards where he kept the controller. Beast cocked his head to the side, wondering if he truly wanted to see what was behind the door. Cyborg shook his head at the boy’s confused look. “What am I doing?” He mumbled to himself. “I’m being ridiculous he’s not gonna try anything.”

 

With a last shake of the head he opened the door and walked up a final set of stairs, Beast following after him obediently. At the top of the stairs there was another doorway and Cyborg once more looked nervous. “Okay, I need you to be good now, got it? Make sure to behave.”

 

Beast nodded, curious now. Cyborg opened the door, letting in a stream of sunlight so bright that Beast found himself having to squint. The robotic teen made his way outside, the shape shifter following hesitantly. When his eyes adjusted he found himself on the roof of the enormous building, looking out on the clear skies above and open waters below. The city stood a slight distance away, it’s buildings half of their natural size. Beast stumbled out into the sunlight, a grin breaking the surface as he felt the rich sunlight touch his skin.

 

He laughed joyously and made his way to the edge of the roof, quivering with excitement. He wanted nothing more than to shift into a bird and fly into the sky, feeling the wind beneath his wings and sun warming his feathers. He wanted to jump of the roof, diving as a dolphin into the waters below. He wanted to take to the sky, to the sea, to feel a bit of the wild animal go free. But he couldn’t, he knew that.

 

 Looking back to Master Cyborg, Beast saw that the teen was nervously fiddling with the remote, appearing sick with worry. The green teen smiled softly. Master Cyborg didn’t want to hurt him, he’d said so earlier, but he would if he had to. If Beast turned into a bird like he desired, the Titan would have no choice but to push the button and Beast knew he didn’t want to do that. The green boy wouldn’t do that to this Master, the one that had been so kind to him and was so against hurting him. He wouldn’t. So, with a sad smile he walked away from the edge of the roof. He made his way next to the larger teen, not looking at him but still facing the sun, reveling in it. 

 

Cyborg smiled sadly as he watched the boy relish the warmth. It was the first time the green bean had seen the sun in two weeks. He remembered the cold, dark, windowless warehouse where they’d found him and faltered. Who knew how long he had been in there? Or how long it had been since he’d seen the sun regardless of where he was. When was the last time he’d been outside, Cyborg wondered.

 

Sure, he was outside for a few seconds when they moved him from the warehouse to the car, but it had been nine o’clock at night at the time and he’d been terrified. He probably hadn't even comprehended that he was outside. Cyborg frowned, still watching the child. Beast looked up to him, becoming shocked and worried when he saw the expression on the larger teen’s face. Cyborg shook his head and replaced the expression with a grin. The kid looked so happy now, out in the sun.

 

His hand, which had been playing with the remote, stilled. Beast wouldn’t do anything, Cyborg knew that. He thought for sure the shape shifter was going to take off at first, he’d had every opportunity to, but instead he had come back to stand by him. The Titan ruffled the boy’s green hair before deciding to take a rather large leap of faith. He looked over the tower’s edge to the city and, seeing neither the R-cycle nor red-haired alien in sight, he turned back to Beast. Taking a deep breath, he caught Beast’s eyes before speaking.

 

“Five minutes. You have five minutes to become any bird you like, don’t get out of sight and come back the instant I call.”

 

Beast stared back with huge, uncomprehending eyes for a millisecond before deciding he was wasting time. In an instant he was a hawk, gliding around the towers. He gave a piercing cry as he flew, circling the building and feeling the wind rush through his weeks. He hadn’t flown, really flown- the occasional wing flaps in his cell didn’t count, in ages. Five minutes seemed to go by in an instant and soon enough Master Cyborg was calling for him, looking almost as happy as he was.

 

Beast landed on the teen’s shoulder like a parrot for a moment before shifting back human, a face splitting grin glued on his face. “Th-thank you.” Beast spit out breathlessly and Cyborg’s grin broadened. He ruffled the boy’s hair.

 

“No prob grass stain. But uh, let’s keep this between us, got it?”

 

The boy nodded, following obediently like a puppy as they left the roof, toting behind Cyborg. Finally they ended up in the main room, the place with the food and the couch. Cyborg led the way into the room. “I guess I never did really give you the formal tour of this place. We spend most of the time in here. We’ve got the TV, which doubles as a supercomputer, video games, fully tricked out media player, world’s comfiest couch. We also have the kitchen, fully stocked and sometimes moldy. It’s kinda bare now but Raven is grocery shopping so we should have more food later. Speaking of, it’s almost lunchtime. You hungry?”

 

Beast nodded, following the large teen into the kitchen. Cyborg grinned at the boy. He was proud to say, thanks to his cooking and a lot of good food, that you could no longer count the boy’s ribs. Sure, the kid was still unbelievably scrawny, but at least he no longer looked like he was a second from death. The cyber-teen glanced through the cupboards, finding them all empty before deciding to brave the fridge.

 

Beast’s nose crinkled as Cyborg opened the door, getting a whiff of mold and rotting. The Titan looked to him apologetically. “Now I’m sure we can find something salvageable.” However, he gave up when some of the blue sludge decided to try and attack. “Never mind, I’ll just order pizza. Meat lovers okay with you?” He asked jokingly, laughing when the boy shook his head, a look of disgust on his face. “Fine, fine. Large meat lovers for me and a veggie for you it is then.”

 

He was rewarded with a smile from the green boy as he made the call. He watched the shape shifter as he placed the order. Beast, much more comfortable with Cyborg now than he had been the first night, had begun to wander around the room. He was hovering around the couch when Cyborg ended the call.

 

“You’ll probably have to head back to your room after we eat. We got a half hour till then and I bet I could kick your butt in Mega Money Kart while we wait.”

 

Beast just looked up at him in utter confusion. Cyborg laughed and motioned for the green boy to sit on the couch while he set up the game. He handed the green boy the player-two controller and sat down beside him. “Alright, this is a practice round; I’ll show you what to do.” He moved the toggle and Beast’s ears perked with interest as the car on the screen moved accordingly. “This is a pretty simple game. You move that for the direction and the button with the ‘A’ on it to go. If you think you’ve got the hang of it, you can press the B button once in a while, it gives you a small boost. Ready? See if you can do it. Don’t worry, this is still the practice round.”

 

Beast pressed A, smiling when the car moved. He watched the screen intently, starting when he saw the “road” curve. He yanked the toggle to the side and- crashed into a tree. His looked at Cyborg nervously but the large teen smiled comfortingly. “Don’t worry, just try to make your way around the tree.”

 

After much work and a good deal of time he finally got free, only to immediately crash again. He crashed a total of 18 more times before finally reaching the end of the practice level. Though he was getting better by the end, he could go a full seven seconds without running into anything, Cyborg offered him the chance to try it again before the real game. To his surprise the boy refused.

 

“Alrighty then. You ready?” Beast glanced at him, clutching the controller in a death grip and never truly turning his gaze from the television, and nodded. “Let’s do this."

 

The game went fairly predictably. Cyborg won in a landslide with Beast coming in last, well behind even the slowest of the computer-generated cars. On the bright side, he only crashed about ten times, nearly cutting his old record in half. Cyborg watched the boy, worried about him becoming put out, but to his surprise the shape shifter seemed even more determined than ever. This time when Cyborg asked if he wanted to go again, the boy responded with a verbal yes.

 

The second game went about the same as the first, as did the third. The only difference was that Beast’s crash record was getting drastically lowered each time. And the boy seemed to get more excited each time they played. It was the fourth game, in which Beast only crashed once, that he finally wasn’t last. In fact, he came in second to last. It would have been third except when he passed his first car he started shouting “I’m beating it! I’m beating it!” And got so startled when he realized he was yelling in front of a Master that he forgot to keep a hold of the A and he almost lost the placing that he had.

 

Cyborg cheered for him, clapping the boy on the back. “Way to go B! You’ll be actual competition in no time.” Beast grinned at the teen before turning back to the television, ready to go for another round when the doorbell rang. “Pizza’s here.” He looked back to the door before turning back to B and giving him the player one control, quickly changing the settings to a one player game. “You stay right here. I’ll be back. I gotta go get my wallet. Don’t move.” He disappeared out the door leading to the rooms, leaving Beast to play alone.

 

The boy had just started the first race when the other door opened, revealing Robin carrying two pizzas. “Hey Cy, you owe me money for this. I saw the delivery guy just as I was coming in and-” He froze, finally noticing that it was not his robotic friend playing video games but a green, tiny shape shifter. The pizzas fell to the floor as the boy wonder leaped for the green teen, vaulting over the couch. With one hand he gripped the metal collar; the other grabbed the child’s wrist and wrenched it behind his back as Robin forced the unresisting boy to the floor.

 

“How did you get out?” He demanded.

 

Beast whimpered and was about to answer when the door Cyborg had disappeared in opened. “Rob, what are you doing to B?” He shouted, rushing over and pulling the boy wonder off of the shape shifter.

 

“He escaped! How did he get out, you were supposed to be watching him.”

 

“I was watching him. And I decided that he shouldn’t be stuck in that tiny room for a month.”

 

Robin froze. “You let him out.”

 

“Yes I did.”

 

“And you left him alone.”

 

“He was fine! I bet he wasn’t doing anything worse than playing video games when you came in.”

 

“That’s not the point. I don’t trust him enough to let him wander around the tower and-”

 

“And what? Keeping him locked in a room was gonna make you trust him more? Besides, he wasn’t wandering. I was with him almost the entire time. He was perfectly behaved, even out on the roof he-“

 

“You took him on the roof?”

 

“Calm down, like I said he was fine.”

 

Robin growled and seemed to finally notice that Beast was still with them, cowering against the couch. “Go back to your room.” He ordered and Beast went, pausing as Cyborg’s voice sounded behind him.

 

“No. You’re fine where you’re at. Stay.” Beast paused, but Robin was the leader Master so he continued to his room. However, the hesitation was enough for Cyborg to grab onto his arm and make him stay. Beast looked to Robin for guidance to see if the Master would command him to escape Cyborg’s grasp, but Robin wasn’t looking at him. He had eyes only for the large teen.

 

“Let him go.”

 

“No, he’s just fine right here.” The two continued to argue, Beast shrinking back more and more as they yelled. Finally Cyborg, moving his arms in an angry gesture, let go of Beast, freeing the boy to follow his Lead-Master’s orders and escape to his cell, leaving the two yelling voices behind him.


	10. Festering Fights

 

Raven entered the tower to a chorus of yelling and fighting. Levitating the groceries to the kitchen she turned a glare on the two quarreling boys but didn’t bother paying attention to them as she collected her books to put them away before taking care of the food. If they wanted to fight like idiots, she would let them. At least until it inconvenienced her of course. She sighed in a mix of irritation and relief as the doors slid closed behind her when she entered the hallway, the metal slabs blocking out the pointless yelling. She wasn’t sure what the argument was, but no doubt it was something stupid that had a lot to do with male ego. With a roll of the eyes she continued down the halls, her mind locked on the books in her bag.

 

The girl stopped, however, when a whimper sounded. She cast her gaze to other side of the hallway, surprised to see Beast’s emerald orbs looking back to her. Now aware of his presence the girl could sense the waves of terror simply rolling off of the boy, he was scared to death. Beast was curled up beside the wall in what was almost a fetal position, his eyes wide and horrified. The door beside him was crisscrossed with scratches, and most of his nails had been either broken off or bent. The boy was shaking where he sat, curling upon himself as if he wished for nothing more than to disappear.

 

The dark girl was beside the boy in an instant, caught between worry about his mental state and panic that he’d gotten out from his cell. “What happened?” She demanded, reaching to help him up with one hand and keying the security code to open the door with the other.

 

The boy shook as he answered, rushing into the room the instant the doors opened enough to give way to his skinny frame. “C-Cyborg l-let me out to show me around the tower, b- but I don’t think he was supposed to cause M- Ma- Robin saw me and started yelling.”Beast winced as he answered, his jumbled and terrified thoughts yelling that he wasn’t supposed to answer a Master like that, while another part argued that Raven wasn’t like other Masters. None of the Titans were. At least that was what he thought but Master Robin was so mad and he just didn’t know anymore.

 

The girl looked to him with one eyebrow raised, working on keeping in her fury. “Cyborg let you out?” Beast nodded. “And Robin yelled at you about it?” Another nod and the girl sighed angrily. She turned without another word, sparing a backward glance at Beast as she left. The boy looked absolutely miserable. He had resumed fetal position, sitting on a corner of his bed and burying his face in his knees as he shook in terror. This was the first time any of the Titans had yelled at him, had been angry at him for anything, He had no clue what to expect. The girl sighed once more at the pathetic sight, returning to her bags in the hallway and pulling out the small pet store bag she had stowed in the larger one from the bookstore. Making her way back to the boy’s cell he pulled out its contents.

 

“Beast.” She called, making the boy look up to her. She threw the ball and he caught it in both hands. “I believe that is yours.” She said before turning away and closing the door on the boy’s amazed face. Throwing the books into her room she stormed to confront the boys. Starfire had arrived at one point and was trying vainly to stop the fight, or at least discover what it was about. The argument had by then completely dissolved from its original topic and was currently nothing more than a serious of insults.

 

“OUIET!” Raven roared, causing all activity to completely stop. After a second of complete silence the yelling started again.

 

“Cyborg let Beast out and took him to the roof and even left him alone even though I-”

 

“Robin’s freaking out over nothing and B’ll never be able to-”

 

“Stop.” The Titan’s resident empath commanded and the room was quiet once more. “I don’t care what Cyborg did or what Robin did. What I want to know is, which idiot sent him back to his room all alone?” There was an awkward silence as Cyborg’s, and consequently everyone else’s, gaze turned to Robin.

 

The boy wonder gaped like a fish for a moment before speaking. “What happened? Did he escape?”

 

“Of course not.” Raven snapped. “I thought we determined two weeks ago that even if he did he would have nowhere to go. No, what he did was cower in front of the door because he had no way to open it. Not to mention being completely terrified because he was incapable of following through with his already furious Master’s command”

 

Starfire floated nervously between the Titans. “Robin, is this true?”

 

“I-I guess it is.” The boy wonder admitted, scratching the back of his head nervously. Suddenly his embarrassment seemed to vanish, replaced by righteous fury. “But Cyborg snuck around our back to let the kid loose without telling anyone.”

 

“He was fine!” The robotic teen yelled. “He listened to me the entire time. He can’t stay in that room forever Rob.”

 

“Not forever, I just need to make sure he-“

 

“How’s he gonna gain any trust being locked in a room. He-“

 

“ENOUGH!” Surprisingly it was Starfire who yelled, flying between the two quarreling boys with her eyes shining in fury. “Fighting such as this is foolishness. Friends, there is truth in both your words. Cyborg should not have done the deceiving nor let B out before Robin deemed him ready. But Friend Robin, you cannot deny Friend Cyborg’s truth. If B is to gain our trust we must give him opportunities to do so and that includes allowing him to be free of his cell.”

 

The boys took a moment to digest Starfire’s words before both turned, pouting slightly. “I guess I’ll agree with that if you do.” Robin muttered.

 

Cyborg nodded. “Fine.”

 

Raven nodded, feeling like the mother of two quibbling siblings. “Now, I believe there is someone else you both must apologize to.”

 

With a final sigh both boys trailed up to the door, making their way to Beast’s room. Raven rolled her eyes as they left. “Boys,” she mumbled. Starfire made a noise of agreement and both girls made their way to the kitchen to put away the groceries.

 

Beast jerked to standing position as he heard the familiar sound of footsteps nearing his room. The boy winced when he recognized the steps as those of Masters Cyborg and Robin. He began to shake in fear but stopped himself. He resolved to take his punishment silently and obediently, like these masters deserved. He would do better, he promised himself. He would abide all of his training; never give them another reason to be mad. He would be the perfect Beast.

He hoped they would tell him what he did wrong though; he didn’t want to do it again. Beast would do everything possible to be the best and most obedient he’d ever been for these Masters. They were kind and gave him food and a bed and talked to him and liked it when he responded. He didn’t want to leave these Masters, didn’t want to be sold.

 

What if he made them so mad that they decided that he wasn’t worth it? What if they didn’t want him anymore? He didn’t think whatever he had done today could have made them that upset, but what about the next time he did something wrong? Or the next? How far could their patience bend before they got tired of him and sold him like everyone else did? How would he be able to face a new, probably cruel and harsh, Master after feeling the grace of these ones? That one thought scared him more than any punishment could: the thought of leaving. So he squared his shoulders and stilled his trembling, facing the door ready to accept anything they could dish out.

 

He really wished they would tell him what he had done wrong though. He thought he had been doing so good too. He’d listened to Master Cyborg the whole time, done whatever he was told to do even if it seemed against his nature. Maybe he hadn’t been good enough at that game. Maybe he hadn’t heard Master Cyborg the first time he called for him to stop being a bird. Maybe… Maybe… He didn’t know. He really hoped they would tell him.

 

The door swished open and Robin and Cyborg entered seeming a lot less angry than they had been. In fact, they seemed almost contrite. Cyborg was rubbing the back of his head apologetically. “Hey B. You can, uh, sit down if you want.”

 

Beast hastened to obey. He didn’t want to upset his Masters even more. The robotic Titan sighed. “Look B, we’re sorry.” Beast’s head shot up, his mouth openly gaping as surprise overwhelmed his training. No Master had ever apologized to him before. And certainly not right after yelling. Not after he’d done something wrong. His amazement multiplied when Robin followed suit.

 

“Yeah, sorry I jumped on you like that and yelled at you and sent you back here without telling you how to get in.”

 

Cyborg nodded. “I shoulda told ya I hadn’t told Robin about any of this. I didn’t think he’d get back so early.”

 

Beast hadn’t moved. He’d frozen in space, his mouth still wide and gaping and still looking like the world had turned upside down. Which it had. He’d expected to be yelled at and punished only for, yet again, the rug to be pulled out from under him as the Masters did something completely different. They were looking at him expectantly, as though waiting for him to say something. What did you say when someone apologized? Whenever he apologized for doing something wrong his Masters would just say ‘not good enough’ and start beating him. Somehow, he didn’t think that would be the right response in this situation.

 

He was spared having to come up with a response when the alarm sounded. Robin and Cyborg jumped to their feet, running out and nearly forgetting to close the door behind them. As they left Beast curled upon himself, pressing his hands to his ears until the noise stopped. He hated that alarm. Hated it, hated it. His masters always left when it sounded, leaving him all alone. Were he with any other Masters he would consider it a mercy, but just like with everything else, these were different.

 

Sometimes they would come back smelling of explosives, or oil, or muck, or blood. Sometimes the sounds of their walking would give evidence of injury. Always the injuries were cared for by Master Raven and the limps gone in a day, but he still didn’t like it. He loved the stories he was told the next day, the excitement of victories and triumphs, but that was the thing. When he was being told the stories the Titans were home. Safe and victorious and usually only a little worse for wear. When the alarm rang he had no promise of their safe return, and even when he was most terrified, he found the thought of losing one of these kind Masters scared him even more. He could almost completely forget about the day’s earlier terror.

 In the fifteen days he had stayed with these Masters he had come to dread these alarms more than anything else. Perhaps if he could help, could be there fighting with them as he had been trained to do, he wouldn’t worry so much. But he wasn’t there. He was here. Waiting.

Shaking his head he reached under his bed to pull out the new ball. He felt much more comfortable playing with it knowing that none of his Masters were angry at him anymore. He shifted into bobcat, his tufted ears pointed and primed for the most minute sound, and softly padded the ball back and forth like a cat playing with yarn. Even as he played he kept each and every sense keenly attuned to the door, waiting for a sound, any sound. For hours there was nothing, the afternoon faded into night in complete silence. When he finally heard a door open, the one to the main room he guessed, he jumped to his feet, glad to know that his Masters were back. However, when his tense and hypersensitive ears distinguished the sounds his heart dropped in horror. Only three people had entered the tower. When the sounds got more distinctive still it dropped even farther. Those weren’t his Masters.

* * *

When the alarm rang and the Titan boys ran for the main room, the girls were halfway out the door, ready for action. “Hurry friends,” Starfire called as she flew out a window. “The three from the Hive have nearly emptied the local bank of its monetary value.”

With that the boys were on the way to the garage to grab their respected vehicles. Fights with the Hive kids were always interesting. They were never truly in it for the money, instead they seemed to have some sort of personal vendetta against the Titans because their defeat at their first meeting had made them lose out on some big opportunity with psychopathic super villain Slade. If you asked Robin, the Titans had did the three a favor by keeping them away, but villains rarely listened to heroes.

 

            As it was, in battles against the Hive the original clash was almost always an ambush, taking out one of the Titans and making it an even three on three. Even in numbers at least. When it came to skill the Titans had the Hive beat 75% of the time. However, that other 25% was killer.

 

            And so, when Cyborg, that night’s unfortunate ambush victim, awoke he woke to a crumbling street and three other Titans who looked just as down for the count as he had been. His limbs had been strewed all over the ground, his arm cannon lying completely empty of fuel. No doubt that little punk Gizmo had hotwired it to make himself a weapon. Robin was struggling to escape a steel construction cage Jinx had cursed to trap him. Starfire was looking woozy, as though she had taken a Mammoth blow to the head, and Raven was currently working on using her powers to dig herself out of a huge pile of rubble, aware that if she worked too quickly and moved the wrong piece half of a building would crumble on top of her.

 

 Cyborg grimaced at the sight of the carnage, but it wasn’t anything that hadn’t happened before. Later they would challenge the Hive again, win, and kick them out of the tower they had likely commandeered. As his thoughts glanced over the word tower he faltered, turning to where the giant T had already been altered to form an H. Maybe there was something new about the situation after all. He turned a terrified gaze to his fellow trapped Titans, jerking his head to the giant H in the distance. “B’s still in there.”

* * *

 

            Inside the tower’s main room there was a very different atmosphere than on the street below. The Hive Three (Man, we gotta get two more members or something, the Hive Five would sound so much cooler.) were celebrating their victory. Mammoth had already emptied the cabinets of all the groceries Raven had spent the morning buying and was working his way through the blue colored junk in the fridge. He was slightly put out by the random inclusion of several tofu dishes but paid them little mind as he shoveled everything into his maw. It all ends up in the same place after all.

 

Jinx, who had long since given up finding anything fashionable in the Titan’s tower, had just found a closet and dresser full of black and purple and was giving it a thorough rampage. Gizmo was entertaining himself by going through the Titan’s computer, deleting high scores and trying to decode all the firewalls that Robin and Cyborg had put up. It was then that he noticed something of interest.

 

“Woah!” The tiny boy exclaimed, his eyes locked on the computer.

 

Mammoth grunted what may have been a question had his mouth not been full of the blue creature that attacked whenever someone opened the fridge. Couple of bites and it was gone, Mammoth back in the fridge to see if there had been another.

 

“What?” Jinx asked, holding up a pair of black jeans. “Do you think these are a guys?”

 

The short tech-prodigy ignored the girl’s question, instead pointing to the computer screen showing the Tower schematics. One of the rooms was lit, underneath read the words: Containment cell 1-A. In use. Gizmo grinned.

“They’ve got a prisoner.”


	11. Hive Horrors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone interested, I added a snippit of Beast Boy and Cyborg talking sometime before this. It shows a bit of his progression from Beast to Beast Boy. You can find it on my page under the name "Progress" Or I'll turn this into a collection if I can.   
> Merry Christmas!   
> And By the way, This was my FAVORITE chapter so far to write!

 

            The three Hive members shared a glance; grins began to steal across the lips of Jinx and Mammoth. Jinx laughed, shrill and conniving. “Oh this is just great. The Titans leave us with an enemy of theirs locked in their tower. Excuse me, our tower. They won’t win it back so easily this time, not with this mystery person on our side.” She turned with a flourish, walking towards the hall. “Let’s go get him.”

 

The other Hive members quickly followed suit, greed written across their faces. Surely this prisoner would be nothing but grateful that they had released him and would join with them to defeat their shared enemies. The Titans Tower would be theirs forever, a testament to their superior force. Arriving at the doorway, Gizmo quickly set to work decoding the security password, shouting in victory as it blinked green. They were in.

 

The door slid open to reveal: an empty room. The teens gaped at the space, Jinx walking in and checking under the bed to make sure whoever it was wasn’t hiding. “Well this bites.” She grumbled, swatting at a fly that buzzed around her head. The insect avoided her flailing hands, making it out to the hallway beyond.

 

            “Yeah.” Agreed Gizmo. “Those poop-heads must have already moved him.” It was obvious the room had recently been inhabited, the bed wasn’t made, crumbs littered the floor, and a ball lay on the floor. Jinx picked up the ball, eyeing the gouge-marks that littered it.

 

            “Whatever it was, it had teeth.” She mumbled, tossing it to herself. Mammoth eyed the movement as though wanting to chomp on the ball himself, but with a flare of pink energy the toy crumbled. “Well, that was a colossal waste of time. Come on, I wanna see if they have any good movies I can snitch.”

 

            The trio left the room, never taking note of the green fly landed on the opposite wall, staring at them intently. Beast had been taught many things. Always obey the Master, always listen to what they say and do your best to please and obey. Stay in the cage, don’t go against Masters orders. But what he learned the most was: If your Master or their property was in danger, you fight. No exceptions, no other rules. And that was what he planned on doing, no matter where his Masters were now. 

 

However, as he looked on the trio, all obviously very commendable foes if they were able to fight his Masters and beat them, he knew that he was in for a difficult battle. He would have to be smart, employ strategy. He whimpered. He was never really good at that. But he would have to be, for his Masters. The only Masters he had ever liked. He would protect their property and, if necessary, avenge their death.

 

            Taking a deep breath the fly became a lime hummingbird, flying down the empty hall to a set of downward stairs. Beast was sure he’d seen a fuse box in the garage, even if Cyborg had been too focused on his car to point it out. He was glad he’d paid so much attention earlier on that tour. He wouldn't have stood a chance otherwise. The boy made his way to the garage, finding the electrical box precisely where he thought it would be. He grimaced when he saw there was some kind of security lock to dissuade villains from sneaking in and turning off the security system.

 

The grimaced turned into a smile that was grossly warped as huge fangs and whiskers appeared on his face. In an instant a powerful Saber Tooth Tiger had replaced the boy, its bulging muscles and ferocious claws cutting through the metal and wires with only a few measly swings. Finally the entire tower was ascended into darkness.

 

 A fleeting thought flashed through the boy’s mind that his Master’s wouldn’t be happy to come back and find that they needed to replace the electricity or whatever, but then he remembered that because of these intruders they may never come back and the thought left. He shifted into the form of a bat, flying up the stairs and completely at home in the darkest of halls. 

 

            Gizmo had finally broken through one of Robin’s firewalls to his more personal files, revealing a movie the boy wonder had downloaded labeled ‘Beast’. “Wonder what kind of videos Robin has that he feels the need to hide.” The villain laughed. He was just about to press play with the power went out. Jinx, who had been modeling one of the outfits she’d found and almost decided that they were in fact for boys, let out a frustrated shriek. Mammoth, who having eaten all of the titans food had decided to take a nap, simply grunted.

 

            “Great,” Gizmo complained. “Those crud-muffins must be back.”

 

            Jinx shook her head. “No way, did you see Cyborg? I’d give ‘em another hour at the earliest. Maybe two depending on how hard Mammoth nailed Starfire.”

 

            “Two and a half.” Mammoth grunted, sounding proud.

 

            “Then we musta blew a fuse or somethin.”

 

            “Probably all your stupid tech.” The pink haired girl said, idly kicking some large machine that the younger boy had been charging.

 

            “Be careful with that!” He shouted, then grumbled to himself. “Now we gotta try and find a fuse box. Come on.” He said, making his way down the hall. Jinx rose an eyebrow after him.

 

            “Why do we have to go?” She asked, making herself comfortable on the couch.

 

            “What else are you gonna do? Sit here in the dark and stare at nothing?”

 

            The girl considered her options. “Fair enough.” She said, but moved in front of Gizmo to lead the way, lighting one hand to cast a pink glow. “Let’s get this over with.”

 

            The three left the room, heading randomly along one of the tower’s many halls. Beast cursed to himself as they left the room. He’d been hoping they would go separately so that he could get rid of them one at a time, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen. Unfortunately his cure turned out to be a bit more audibly that he would have liked, coming out a high squeak that had all the tense Hive three whirling at the noise. Say what you like about not fearing the dark, but when it’s nearly pitch black and you hear a noise that isn’t supposed to be there; you react.

 

            Jinx reacted, shooting a flurry of curses into the air around Beast, leaving the wall a small pile of rubble. The boy could hardly evade them, despite the fact that none were actually aimed at him. When the girl’s panic had subsided and the barrage stopped he stayed still, silently noting that this was a formidable foe, one he would have to watch out for. As they turned to leave, muttering about a false alarm Beast decided that paranoid enemies, ones jumping at every little sound, may give him a broader choice of options. He knocked over a piece of rubble, creating a clattering sound across the room. The smallest member reacted this time, shooting a laser at the noise.

 

            “S-somethings there.” Jinx mumbled and the small boy nodded.

 

            “Y-yeah. Mammoth, go check it out.” The largest boy jumped.

 

            “No way.”

 

            “Come on!” Jinx said exasperatedly, “What are ya, scared? What’s the worse it could be?"

 

            The large guy shrugged. “What about that room?”

 

            “It was empty!” The girl said. There was a tense silence. “Wasn’t it?”

 

            “It looked empty but what if… what if it wasn’t?” Gizmo asked, a hint of fear slinking into his voice and Beast found it hard not to snicker. It was almost like a scene from that Wicked Scary movie Cyborg had told him so much about.  “What if we let something loose? Something bad enough for the Titans to want to lock away.”

 

No one moved for a good minute. Finally Jinx shook her head. “C-come on guys.” She said, putting up a brave front despite her wavering voice. “We’re being ridiculous. It was probably a mouse or something.” And with a brave squaring of the shoulders she walked amid the rubble and began to poke around to find what had made the noise. The boy’s shared a glance before following her.

 

 Each used their own method of checking for the creature. Mammoth punched through walls and lifted chunks of plaster, using his superior strength. Jinx used her powers, lighting the way and casting a jinx on any shadow that seemed to shift. Gizmo used tech and sensors, but none picked up Beast, now nothing but a nymph hidden far from view. He was feeling supremely proud of himself. Little did he know when he dropped the rubble that this was the best way to discover the powers that each of his foes possessed.

 

Finally Jinx stood, having searched each piece of rubble, her eyes still constantly roving as though expecting something to pop out of the woodwork. “See guys? There’s nothing here.” But it was obvious that the lack of tangible person did nothing to take away their worry. Still the group pretended. Gizmo nodded, about to say something, but at that moment Beat, much farther down the hall, turned into a green-black cat and pounded on the wall. He was rewarded with a light thump that made each of the Hive kids jump.

 

“P-probably nothing.” Gizmo stammered.  “Let’s just go find a way to get the lights back on.” Because nothing was as scary in the light. Beast wondered how long it would take before they started to question whether it was an electrical problem at all or if the “mysterious creature” they had let escape had somehow plunged the tower into darkness.

 

The group began to walk and Beast began to plan his strategy. Just scaring them wasn’t going to last long, he had to actually fight. He looked back to the rubble, now suitably pulverized, and gulped. These people were strong. And fast. They had destroyed a whole section of wall in seconds, turning it into a pile of rubble big enough to bury someone in. He started and purred, not loud enough for the Hive teens, much farther along the hall, to hear him. Silently he piled the rubble, turning into a dog and digging a large hole at its center, one certainly large enough to hold a small boy, even if he had a large backpack.

 

The smallest male would be his first target. The boy was dependent on his tech while the other two were dependent on nothing. If he could separate or destroy the tech, the boy would be nothing more than a helpless teen. The problem was getting to him. The group was huddling even closer now that Beast had scared them, peeking into each room cautiously. One of them actually screamed when they looked into Raven’s room. Still they walked the halls, not knowing that what they were looking for lay stories below.

 

Beast stalked up to them silently. The silence was making them more paranoid than the small noises had. They now jumped at the sound of their own breathing. They were arguing, growing cross with one another as the fear became too great. It was perfect and a horrible inconvenience at the same time. Beast crouched to think. He needed a creature mysterious enough to keep them afraid, large enough to knock the big guy down, dangerous enough to destroy the backpack in one go and lithe enough to avoid the pink stuff.

 

Suddenly the perfect creature came to mind and a large jungle cat lay in the shadows behind the teens. Its green fur was nearly black, the closest to a panther that Beast could become. He would never be a true panther, for its definition was a leopard of midnight fur, something the lime shapeshifter could never achieve, but now with the darkness, fear, and glowing pink light he would appear as nothing more than a dark shadow. A dangerous dark shadow.

 

He turned human for a moment again, tossing a piece of rubble he had kept far in front of the enemies. As they all spun to it he leaped from behind, shifting in the air. Mammoth grunted as an unfamiliar and unexpected weight pushed him to the ground and Gizmo screamed as claws raked down his backpack, narrowly missing pale flesh. Jinx shrieked, blasting at the shadow with pink curses but the deft creature narrowly avoided them all and disappeared into the shadows again.

 

Beast breathed as deeply as a spider could as he clung to the wall watching them. He couldn’t believe that had worked, but it did. The small male was now weaponless and all three were terrified. His tail hurt a little where the girl had grazed him but it was no matter, it just reminded him how formidable these foes were.

 

Mammoth was just getting to his feet, his voice shaking. “What was that?” He asked and the other two shook their heads.

 

“I don’t know.” Jinx admitted, a slight tremor to her words. “But I don’t like it.”

 

“It destroyed all my stuff!” Gizmo lamented, gazing at the mauled bag.

 

Mammoth’s eyes moved to both sides of the dark hall. “I don’t like this. I think we should go.”

 

The other two looked like they would like nothing more than to agree, but Jinx’s pride wouldn’t let her. “We can’t leave now. We finally got the tower. This is probably just some trick they set up as security.”

 

“Pretty good trick.” Gizmo grumbled, holding up the bag. Suddenly he gulped, eyeing the shadows. “W- when I was on the computers earlier, r-right before the lights went out I was about to read one of Robin’s files. Something about a Beast.” His last words were spoken in a whisper and the entire group looked to the darkness, as if expecting a ghoul to show itself. Finally Jinx spoke, her voice wavering and breaking even as she attempted to hold up her brave façade.

 

“Come on, let’s just find the lights. And keep alert. No more surprises.”

 

True to the girl’s word, they were much more alert. Beast found no more openings to attack, not unless he wanted to be filleted by magic and strangled by gorilla man. He was just growling in his mind about it as he flashed past an adjoining doorway that he caught a lucky break.

“What was that?” Gizmo asked, the only one small enough to see the nearly black cat shoot by.

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Jinx said decisively. “If we ignore it we can find the lights sooner. Maybe it won’t pay attention to us.” She and Mammoth walked right past but Gizmo remained, staring into the shadowy depths for a moment before realizing that it wouldn’t be smart to be hanging around weaponless and alone. He hurried after the group, but luckily for Beast he remained in the back. It was child’s play for Beast to, completely silent in a female form, sneak up behind the small boy and turn into a gorilla, plucking him up off the ground, keeping a tight hold over his mouth, and disappearing back into the hallway behind.

He had stuffed the boy into the hole in seconds, leaving his head exposed but fastening a gag across his mouth. He was able to keep the boy silent the entire time, a squid tentacle over Gizmo’s mouth as Beast tied the gag. As a finishing touch he disconnected one of the bowl-shaped overhead lights, covering the boy’s head and completely hiding him from view.

He was so swift in fact, that he was back before the other two noticed that their youngest member was gone. It wasn’t for a few seconds after he started tailing them again that they noticed.

“Hey Gizmo,” Jinx called, looking ever forward for the strange creature. “You’re being awfully quiet.” Silence was her only answer. “Gizmo?” She turned, but the boy wasn’t there. “Come on this isn’t funny. I’m sorry I didn’t look into whatever you saw in the hall okay? I just wanted to find the fuse box sooner. Gizmo? Gizmo?” With each word her voice rose higher, her expression more panicked. Finally she shared a horrified glance with Mammoth and ran back down the hall, past where Gizmo had seen Beast, past the remains from the ambush, past the pile of rubble the small boy was so expertly hidden in. She ran all the way back to the great room, shouting for her missing teammate all the while as Mammoth ran behind her.

 Running into the room she glanced around wildly, desperately. Mammoth stood in the doorway, panting and terrified. Beast made his move, flying over the larger teen. The Hive member looked up at the creature floating above him, looking horrified. Beast dropped, transforming into a large python and wrapping around the large teen as he fell.

“Jin-” Mammoth began to yell, cut off as the air was driven from his lungs. Jinx whirled and screamed, flinging curses at Beast. The snake uncoiled at precisely the correct time, the curses flashed past him and instead landed on the terrified girl’s teammate. Mammoth grunted in pain as the curses landed mark and the girl halted her attack. As the large boy struggled vainly for breath, staggering to the couch and using his remaining strength to ram his body and the snake into it, Jinx could do nothing but scream. Suddenly the door to the main room was crashed opened, the automatic panels useless without the power. Jinx whirled, gasping as the Titans rushed into the room.

“Thank goodness!” She called, running up to group. “W-we let your prisoner out. You gotta catch it. I-it already got Gizmo and now Mammoth is-“ There was a loud thud from behind as Mammoth finally lost the battle of consciousness and fell to the floor. A low growling sounded from the spot where Mammoth fell. Jinx let out a strange, strangled sound. “P-please! I’ll go quietly, anything! Just take care of that- that thing.” The girl insisted, not understanding why the Titans didn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation and were just staring at her confusedly. Finally Robin acted, turning to the couch.

“Beast.” He called curtly, commandingly. A wolf head popped out from behind couch, staring at the teens in what could almost he called amazement. “Heel.” The canine leaped over the couch rushing past the flinching Jinx and stopping in front of Robin. Jinx gaped, for when the wolf halted it was a wolf no longer but a boy, skinny and short but around their age with pointed ears. In the little light gained by the room’s large windows and glows coming off of the Titans’ hands the boy’s skin seemed to be tinted a greenish color.

Cyborg moved forward with relief evident on his face but Robin barred his path, glaring at the green creature sharply. “I thought you said you weren’t going to kill.” Jinx’s heart fell. He eyes grew wide and her breath seemed to stop at the implications of that sentence, but Beast shook his head.

“I didn’t.” The boy answered, once again happy that he was with these Masters. Anyone else would have been disappointed in him for leaving them alive. “I hid the small male and the large one is just unconscious. I was really careful to squeeze the right amount.” The boy said, like a child desperate for approval on some project or part in a play. Jinx’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. This time Cyborg managed to slip around the Titan leader, ruffling the green boy’s hair.

“Way to go B, taking on the Hive all by yourself.”

The child grinned, leaning into the touch. Jinx continued to gape as she watched the scene. _This_ was the creature that had been terrorizing them for the past few hours? This small, skinny, ginning boy? She took a step back and shook her head.

“Wait a minute, you mean that we just spent the past two hours running from your pet?” She asked, sounding incredulous and livid. Cyborg looked as though he were about to dispute the term but Beast smiled all the wilder. “Ugh. I’m out.” She said, about to make her escape. Robin gave an almost imperceptible nod and a flash of black and green flew past her leg. Whirling the girl came to face the same wolf face as earlier, this time no longer innocent and amazing but furious and snarling.

She gulped, but pink light flared up her arms and she readied herself to attack. Before she could however, she heared from behind the steady whirring of Cyborg’s cannon along with the metal clink of Robin removing bird-a-rangs. She saw a green glow out of the corner of her eyes on one side, and a swish of blue cape on the other.

“Now, you said something about going quietly?” Robin said, all confidence and smirk almost audible.

The girl shot a glare to the voice but quailed at the prospects of facing all four Titans plus one. She let the pink die and almost immediately her hands were cuffed behind her back, Robin calling the police on their communicators and telling them that the Titans had some trash for them to pick up. Beast was a human once more, standing contentedly beside Starfire as the alien princess assured herself that their friend wasn’t harmed. Moments later Raven used her powers to do the same. It wasn’t long until Jinx was sitting on the couch beside a cuffed and unconscious Mammoth and a dust covered and restrained Gizmo, the Titans clustered around them to keep watch until the police arrived. Cyborg had whistled appreciatively when he saw the state the teen villains were in. “Nice goin’ B, taking down two of the tree Hive members all by yourself. You should get some kind of reward or something.”

“C-can it be a new ball?” The boy asked timidly, throwing a slight glare at Jinx. “She broke mine.”

Cyborg looked at the girl in confusion, as if to say: why would you do something like that, before turning to the boy and clapping him on the back. “Of course. Hey, let me go get the lights and you can tell us all about what happened over dinner.”

Suddenly Beast’s grin dropped and the boy looked terrified, his gaze falling to the floor as his shoulders shook. “I-I’m sorry Ma- Titans. When I was fighting I- I broke many rules.”

Jinx watched the scene with interest. This was weird. As was the half the Titans falling over themselves assuring the boy that whatever he’d done, it was okay. Cyborg and Starfire had rushed to the boy’s aid, but Robin and Raven looked to him sternly.

“What did you do?” Robin asked and Beast ducked his head.

“I changed into creatures much smaller than you allowed.” He said, knowing there was no way to hide it. They would see it if they watched the security tapes anyway. “I left my cell. A-and I broke the electricity.”

Cyborg laughed. “B, you can’t break electricity.”

“Trust me dude, the electricity’s long gone.” Suddenly the boy jumped, his hands jumping to his mouth as though he couldn’t believe he had spoken to Cyborg so informally. “S-sor-” He began to apologize, but Cyborg cut him off loudly.

“So what did you do to break it so badly?”

Beast froze, looking to Cyborg with something akin to amazement before mumbling something about saber tooth tigers and tearing the box up. Cyborg looked worried for a moment before promising to check it out and disappearing. Beast turned his terrified gaze back to Robin to await verdict on the rules he had broken. The boy looked as though struggling with two important decisions before sighing. “This was extenuating circumstances,” He finally decided. “You protected the tower and I guess in this case you were right to break the rules. Just don’t make it a habit.”

Starfire swooped next to the boy and grasped his hands. “You were very brave to go against your training and commands to do what was right.” The girl declared, beaming.

“Good job.” Raven intoned flatly, but it made Beast grin all the same. Jinx shared a look with Gizmo, neither could believe that this was what had stalked and frightened them earlier that evening. He looked so timid and innocent now. The police made it to the tower just as Cyborg was walking up the steps. He collapsed onto the newly vacated couch.

“Well I was wrong. B did manage to break the electricity.”

Beast whimpered. “Sorry.”

“No problem, I’ll be able to fix it alright in the morning. Probably fix it up so that it won’t be destroyed so easily too. ‘till then we’ll just have to make do.”

Robin nodded, looking to the destroyed doors and thinking about the pile of rubble sitting in the hall. “We’re going to have a lot of clean-up to do in the morning.” Taking a deep breath he whirled to Beast. “And don’t think that just because you’re used to being locked in that room that you’re gonna get out of it. It’s about time we had you help out around here.” A smile hinted at the corners of his mouth. “And maybe the next day if we have everything fixed we’ll have to see how you spar.”

* * *

 

The police car wasn’t halfway to the prison before the Hive three had escaped. They were gone long before anyone noticed and Mammoth and Gizmo were already safe in a hideout. Jinx had a different place in mind, but the boys had refused. They just wanted to forget that day had ever happened. Jinx however, had bigger things in mind.

That wasn’t to say, when she entered the ominous lair of turning togs and machinery, that she didn’t wish her backup was standing behind her. Still she pressed on, however, determination alone wasn’t enough to stop the shudder from rolling through her as a soft but dangerous voice said ‘hello dear’ behind her and she turned to face the two-toned mask. Yet the girl squared her shoulders and faced the man bravely. She had information that the man would like and you had to play with a few unsavory characters if you wanted to play in the big league like she did someday. And Slade was as big as they came. 

“How would you like information on your favorite teen crime fighters?”


	12. Toiling Training

There was indeed a ton of cleaning to do the next day, but as they say many hands make light work. By the time it was dinner the rubble had been cleared away and the wall fixed, largely due to Star’s and Raven’s powers and Robin’s mysterious wealth, the electricity was up, running, and better protected, and Beast’s clothes had been found and returned to their rightful places. The cabinets were once more fully stocked, as was the newly cleaned fridge. Robin seriously considered letting the Hive kids win every now and then just so that Mammoth would get rid of all the mold. To his surprise Beast actually snickered when he mentioned it, though the boy quickly stopped and resumed work with a panicked look on his face.

            Beast was a good worker, following any orders and doing whatever he was told without complaint. However he only did what he was told, didn’t just do what looked like needed to be done. They were done soon enough, Beast going back to his room once the work was done so that the Titans didn’t have to worry about watching him. Unfortunately Starfire had insisted cooking the night’s dinner, luckily for Beast the meal absolutely needed the flesh of gorklekin to get that musky flavor so he got his own meal. Cyborg was delegated to bring the boy his meal, mumbling as he went. “I don’t know what’s worse, this tofu crap or whatever it is that Star is making.

            “Hey B,” he called as he entered the room and was met with the familiar sight of Beast standing at attention. “Dinner, you hungry?”

            The boy nodded once and gratefully reached for the plate, wasting no time in digging in once he received the food. Cyborg smiled at the sight, remembering the time when Beast had to be told he could eat. The teen ate with gusto, hungry after a long day of cleaning, and the plate was finished within seconds. Smiling as Cyborg left the room, the boy settled back on the bed, letting his mind wander.

            He was glad that he was let out of his cell that day, it was so strange for him to have gone such a long time without any commands from his Master. Now he had actually been of use and it comforted him slightly. The more useful he was, the less likely it was that he would be sold and he didn’t want to be sold. As foreign as it seemed he liked these Masters. Usually he didn’t mind being sold, it scared him more than it made him sad, but he felt almost as though he would miss these Masters if he were forced to leave. It was a strange thought but for some reason he clung to it. He’d never thought about his masters’ lives after he was sold or stolen from them, but he wondered if these Masters would miss him.

            He shook his head. No, it was better not to think like that, better not to get his hopes up. Because if he thought that they would miss them, it would make them less likely to sell him. Then he wouldn’t try as hard to stay and they would just get rid of him if he were wrong. No, it would be better not to assume anything. He sighed and opened his eyes, wishing he had something to distract his thoughts. They hadn’t had time to get a new ball yet, and now he had nothing but his thoughts to keep him occupied and they always eventually took a bad turn.

            Fingering his shirt he lifted it up just enough to eye the spot where the burn had been. The wound had long since healed, leaving nothing but a large scar. It was kinda funny, in a sick way. The large scar from the Titans had cut off some of his others half-way. One particularly long one started on one end of the old burn and didn’t end until the other side. They were all just scars though, no injury remained. He was excited for training, oh so excited. Nervous as well of course- what if he didn’t do as well as they thought he would, what if he didn’t fight hard enough, what if- but excited none-the-less.

            He wondered how hard his Masters would push him. A silent whimper bubbled in his throat as he remembered straight days of grueling workouts and training, Masters forcing him to go until he passed out, then prodding him awake and making him go even more. He remembered horrible fights back when he was young, fight he’d been completely unprepared for and was completely decimated by his opponents. And then, when he was already well and truly beaten and in pain, his Masters would arrive and punish him for losing the fight.

 He remembered being trained to avoid bullets by being shot at, the searing pain when he didn’t do it correctly. Survival training, being trapped in horrible extreme temperatures and trying to find a way to escape and survive. There was rapid-fire shifting, where he was forced to change so quickly and into such different creatures that his powers slipped from his control. And there was the- The boy shook his head, hands over his pointed ears as though attempting to block out the thoughts. No, he didn’t want to remember, didn’t want to think. The boy’s hands grasped for the ball, for anything to distract himself with, but his hands met with nothing but empty air

He shook his head and fisted his hands, gripping the blanket beneath him No, he wouldn’t think about that kind of stuff. These Masters wouldn’t do stuff like that, and even if they did it was better not to think about it. He was excited for training, he was. He was excited for training, he was. He was… the boy kept of a steady mantra in his head, the repetition warding off any unwelcome thoughts. Finally he broke off his thoughts and rose shakily to his feet as steps neared his cell. He knew that whoever it was would probably go right past his room, but the sound was a welcome change from the repetition.

To his surprise however, his door opened and Starfire’s head peeked in, the girl grinning broadly. “Greetings!” She called, and Beast smiled softly. “Come, we wish for you to partake in the tradition of the movie night with us.”  

Beast cocked his head to the side slightly and followed, unsure of what was going on but happy to escape the silence of the room. As they entered the main room Beast’s nose crinkled as it was hit with a peculiar scent that he wisely chose not to comment on. The remaining three titans all sat on the couch eating popcorn with relish, as though to cleanse their mouths from some other taste. Starfire floated over to the group and grabbed some of the snack as well, though she was a lot less frenzied. Beast remained standing beside the couch, his heart thudding nervously. While he was more at ease with Cyborg and Starfire, with all of the Titans really, when it was one on one, being around the entire group still intimidated him.

Cyborg glanced at him from where he was scarfing down the popcorn. “Hey B, come on and sit down.” He said, patting the couch next to him. The boy looked over to Robin, remembering the last time Cyborg had tried to tell him to sit on the couch the Titan leader had protested. This time however, the spiky haired teen just nodded and Beast made his way around the couch to sit next to the large teen. Cyborg held out the bowl. “Here, have some popcorn.”  Beast took it obediently, still sitting stiffly and ramrod straight.

He remained that way throughout the movie, confused and uncomfortable as he wondered what purpose his Masters had in calling him out to the room. It didn’t help that several times throughout the show Robin had his intense gaze trained on the green shape shifter, as though expecting him to run or lash out. Beast did neither, never so much as twitching except when Cyborg gave him popcorn, which he would toss into his mouth as though swallowing an uncomfortable pill. When finally the ending credits began to roll Cyborg yawned tiredly and turned to Beast, trying to pretend that he hadn’t seen the boy’s extreme discomfort.

“Not a bad flick, so B, what was your favorite part?”

Beast froze, his gaze going from tense to terrified. There was a test? They were asking question? Why didn’t he pay more attention? Now they would be mad. He began to attempt to stammer a reply but Robin cut him off. “Cyborg, just…” The Titan leader sighed and shook his head. “Just take him back to his room.”

Beast’s ears drooped. He had disappointed his Masters somehow. What had he done? The green boy was subdued as Cyborg led him back to his room, though the instant the door closed he turned into a dog and placed one ear to the door, straining to listen to the Titans as they spoke in the main room.

“I swear Rob,” Cyborg was saying as the doors swished shut behind him. “He is getting better. I can see it when I’m with him alone. He just gets freaked out when we’re all their together.”

The boy wonder sighed. “Raven?” He asked, as though looking for another opinion.

“A much broader range of emotions, and as I’m sure you’ve noticed he shows them much more readily. He is improving but it will take time. He’s only been here a little over two weeks, and we’ve only really started making an effort yesterday. This isn’t going to happen overnight. He’s still scared of a lot of things.”

Cyborg’s voice chimed in agreement. “I think I’ve pretty much got him over thinking we were gonna beat him into a bloody pulp every time he takes a step out of place, but he still seems pretty freaked about breaking the rules.”

There was a second or two of silence before Robin sighed. “Well, I guess there’s nothing else to do but continue what we’re doing and wait for training in the morning. I’m going to make some calls though and see if anyone would know what to do about him.” Beast heard the door open and close behind the boy wonder, followed soon by the other Titans as they all made their way to bed. He crawled away from the door as Cyborg shut off his lights, curling into bed and wrapping his arms around his knees.

So he was doing something wrong. He didn’t know what it was though. Apparently he was ‘getting better’ at it, but he didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. His Masters were disappointed in him though, and that was what really mattered. Robin’s last words rang in his mind ‘see if anyone else would know what to do about him’. It wounded like if he didn’t get a whole lot better at whatever it was soon, he was going to get sold. He didn’t want that, he really didn’t want that. He would just have to figure out what it was that he needed to get better at before it was too late.

* * *

 

 

With the sun next morning came waffles and excitement as the Titans anticipated really seeing what Beast could do for the first time. The boy’s tense atmosphere the night before hadn’t faded from their thoughts, but they pushed it to the back of their minds and focused on other things. Robin was surprisingly late for breakfast, not making it down until well into Cyborg’s third plate of food. The boy wonder didn’t exactly look happy either.

“So I take it the calls didn’t go well?” Raven asked as Robin sat down grumbling to himself.

“Never got to them.” He answered, spearing a waffle with his fork. “Someone hacked into my computer last night. They got over two dozen files. Most of them were completely random too so I have no clue what they were really after. I spent all last night trying to find the guy but whoever did it was good, they completely disappeared from the radar.” He bit into his breakfast savagely and continued to chew angrily for a while before speaking again. “I’ll try calling again later, hopefully I can get some advice.”

Cyborg took Beast his breakfast after that, promising to meet the others in the training room when he was done. He went into the room and found the boy wide awake and grinning. Beast’s excitement had been renewed with the good night’s sleep and now he was ready to get out of the small room and test his strength. The small boy swallowed breakfast in a few large bites. The Titan chuckled at his gusto. “Careful you don’t choke.” He warned and the boy slowed, if only slightly. Soon the plate was empty and Beast stood nearly quivering with excitement. Cyborg grinned again as he led the shape shifter to the room with his clothes, telling the boy to pick out a training outfit.

The green child quickly began to change into some green and black spandex, tripping over the legs of his pants and getting his arms stuck in his haste. Cyborg chuckled at the shape shifter’s enthusiasm. “You’re like a cooped up dog going for a walk.”

Without a second’s thought Beast transformed into a dog, grabbing the silver belt in his mouth like a leash and barking, running around the robotic teen’s legs. Cyborg laughed and patted the boy’s head when he popped up, looking mortified at what he had done. The boy joined the laughter slightly when he saw that his Master approved of his antics, some of the last nights residual tension slipping off of his shoulders. The robotic Titan watched his green friend sadly. If only the others could see him like this, see how well he was getting along. But, like Raven said, it would take time. Just knowing that the kid was improving was enough for him for now.

      “C’mon B, let’s go.” Beast followed, seeming relieved about something, but as they neared the others he seemed more nervous than ever. The boy was practically shaking before he entered the room, something that Cyborg hadn’t seen him do in a while. The Titan stopped, looking Beast up and down. “Okay, what’s eatin’ ya? You didn’t used to be this freaked out.”

Beast shook his head, not meeting Cyborg’s eyes. When they had neared the other Masters, all of Beasts fears from the night before had risen up again. How was he supposed to tell his Master how worried he was that he was going to be sold, that the thought of leaving this tower scared him more than the thought of punishments ever had? He bit his tongue and shook his head even harder. Cyborg sighed and knelt down beside Beast but, like an upset child, the green boy refused to meet his eyes.

“Hey, I don’t know what’s got you so worried, but you don’t need to be. C’mon kid. You were so good back there and now you’re falling apart. Does Robin still freak you out cause he yelled the other day?”

Beast shook his head no. “Is it Starfire? Or Raven? I know she can scare some people.”

Again the boy shook his head. “Does all of us being together freak you out?”

Beast began to shake his head no before pausing and moving his head side to side in a so-so expression. “Kinda? But that’s not why you’re panicking is it?” Another shake. “Well, I’m not gonna force you to tell me but do you think you could relax a little. You being all tense isn’t going to do anyone any good.”

Beast forced himself to relax, nodding to Cyborg once his heart’s frantic beating slowed. “Okay, you ready?” The boy nodded and followed Cyborg into the large training area. His eyes roved over the dozens of practice machines and equipment and began to relax in earnest. This, he was used to.

Robin nodded at Beast as the two entered, walking over to them. Beast stood readily, awaiting commands. “For now I want to start you on some basic stuff, see how you do before moving on to the more complicated tests. Why don’t you start on one of the treadmills?”

Beast nodded but bit his lip and shifted from foot to foot nervously in the way that the Titans recognized as meaning that he wanted to ask a question but didn’t dare speak up. “What is it?” Robin asked.

“W-what form do you wish me to use?”

“Uh, I guess stick with human for everything today; we’ll test your normal capabilities.” The boy nodded and moved towards the equipment but Robin’s voice stopped him. “And next time you have a question just ask. I don’t like having to guess when you’re confused about something.”

Beast nodded. “Yes Robin.” He said, but a smile ghosted about his lips. Robin nodded once and Beast made his way to the machine, Robin following behind. The boy wonder walked over to the controls. Beast stood on the pad, waiting for his Master to start the machine.

“I’m going to start it a little lower than what your file said your average speed was, just to be sure, and I want you to increase the speed until you’ve reached your limit.”

Beast nodded in understanding, anticipating the start of his training. As the treadmill began to move and pick up speed, going much faster than an average person’s, he matched it with unparalleled ease. He went up in speeds quickly, amazed at how good he felt. This was the first training in years in which he was in good health, a full stomach, and no wounds. He didn’t have any cricks or muscle soreness from sleeping in a cramped cage and his clothes weren’t ragged and no longer stuck to his skin. He was feeling the effects of two nearly motionless weeks, but for the most part he’d never been in better health.

He passed his old high in no time, comfortably running at what was once his top speed. Robin kept him on the treadmill for a while, testing his endurance as well as his speed, before finally telling Beast to get off. The green boy was sweating and panting heavily, but seemed all the happier for it. The other Titans had lost interest in the running boy at various points in time and were doing their own workouts. Beast found his gaze dwelling to where Cyborg was struggling with unbelievably huge weights. No wonder dropping on him as a hippo in that first fight hadn’t worked.

Robin had Beast lift weights first, thankfully ones much smaller than Cyborg’s, and Beast found himself pleased to be succeeding in this as well. He felt his confidence growing as the day wore on, especially because Master Robin seemed pleased with him. Maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about being sold after all. The thought made him work even harder, blowing previous records out of the water. Beast had a moment to appreciate the irony that these Masters, who really pushed him the least of the Masters, made him want to do his best.

They worked for most of the day, stopping only for a small lunch before going again. Robin cited the reason being that they hadn’t had much practice the past few days for various reasons, but Beast didn’t mind. He began to grow tired as the day wore on, but it was nothing compared to the complete exhaustion he sometimes worked with. Finally Beast had been tested using each of the machines, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he’d excelled at every test.

Robin nodded at the boy as the others finished their last reps of whatever they were doing. “Good job B, I was impressed.” Beast grinned at the boy wonder, his heart soaring at the words. “Just one more thing before you rest, I want to spar with you a little. Think you can do that?”

Beast nodded eagerly, stretching his tiring muscles. He was going to be so sore tomorrow, he just knew it. Yet it was like all of his energy from the past two weeks had been released at once, he was ready for anything. “Good. Stay human though, I just want to check on your hand to hand. Your file said you had a lot of training in that, right?”

“Yep!” Beast answered with a grin, forgetting for a moment that he was trying to be careful around his masters. Robin smiled anyway and led the boy to what looked like a boxing ring at the center of the room. The other Titans all clustered around the ring, watching interestedly but non-expectantly, as though they all knew that Robin would win. Remembering the fight from when the Titans stole him, Beast couldn’t find it within himself to disagree.

He crouched low when the fight started, much lower than a normal person would have, causing Robin to watch him with confusion for a moment. However the confusion lasted not even long enough to give the boy an opening as the boy wonder quickly readied himself. The opponents circled for a while but Beast, the more impatient of the two, leaped forward in an attack. Robin deftly avoided it, jumping to a side and catching the boy with a kick to the side. Beast rolled to his feet as the kick sent him across the mat, rising up to his feet and attacking once more.

Robin paid close attention to the boy as they sparred, more watching him fight than lashing out himself. The green child was better than he thought, the files had not been lying when it mentioned his tutelage under many fighting masters. But the boy’s fighting signature was… unique to say the least. Though he kept correct technique and form, the boy seemed to get wilder, more animalistic as he fought. It kept him in the fight for longer than Robin expected, but it was also his downfall.

It was almost like Beast was intertwined with his animal instincts no matter his form, as though even as a human he was an animal. He ignored some of the more obvious pressure points, instead nearly always lunging for the neck. When he made punches and jabs he was as fast as a striking cobra, but his attacks almost always came in swipes or swings. Sometimes he would swing an inch or two short of hitting Robin, as though expecting there to be a claws at the ends of his fingertips. It slowed him down just a fraction of a second, but it was enough for Robin to land a blow hard enough to send the boy flying. Before he could rise again Robin was upon him, making it clear that the fight was over.

Beast snarled, seeming to forget a moment that he was simply sparring. In fact, he looked ready to fight again before Robin spoke. “The fight is over. Stand down.”

Immediately the fight left him and Beast was nothing but an exhausted boy, panting and defeated. Robin reached down and offered Beast a hand to help him up. At first the boy hesitated, but after a second’s pause he accepted the hand, allowing Robin to pull him to his feet. The boy wonder nodded to him. “That’s enough for today. In a few days we’ll test out your animal forms, but for now I you can just head back to your room and rest.” The Titan leader told the boy, his mind on Beast’s reaction at the end of the fight and the sparring he had seen on the DVD, battles ending only when one party was too injured to move and where surrender was no more an option than mercy. He wasn’t sure how he had expected his fight to Beast to end, but he realized that he shouldn’t have been surprised how it did.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the colorful teen turned to Cyborg. “Will you take him back? I have to take care of those calls I was talking about last night.”

Beast froze at the words, his eyes going wide even as Cyborg led him out of the room. The calls from the night before? Were they the ones that they were thinking of selling Beast to? They still wanted to sell him? He thought he had done so well. He had worked so hard. Was it the battle; was Master Robin angry at him for losing? For not ending when he was supposed to? Beast whimpered to himself as he walked into his cell, deaf to Cyborg’s words of encouragement behind him.

Beast collapsed onto his bed, despondent. He had worked so hard to stay but apparently it was not to be. He wasn’t good enough, he was too weak, too unreliable. He was… he was … he was tired. Beast slid his eyes closed, attempting to blink, but they didn’t open as he fell into an exhausted sleep.

 

With the sun next morning came waffles and excitement as the Titans anticipated really seeing what Beast could do for the first time. The boy’s tense atmosphere the night before hadn’t faded from their thoughts, but they pushed it to the back of their minds and focused on other things. Robin was surprisingly late for breakfast, not making it down until well into Cyborg’s third plate of food. The boy wonder didn’t exactly look happy either.

“So I take it the calls didn’t go well?” Raven asked as Robin sat down grumbling to himself.

“Never got to them.” He answered, spearing a waffle with his fork. “Someone hacked into my computer last night. They got over two dozen files. Most of them were completely random too so I have no clue what they were really after. I spent all last night trying to find the guy but whoever did it was good, they completely disappeared from the radar.” He bit into his breakfast savagely and continued to chew angrily for a while before speaking again. “I’ll try calling again later, hopefully I can get some advice.”

Cyborg took Beast his breakfast after that, promising to meet the others in the training room when he was done. He went into the room and found the boy wide awake and grinning. Beast’s excitement had been renewed with the good night’s sleep and now he was ready to get out of the small room and test his strength. The small boy swallowed breakfast in a few large bites. The Titan chuckled at his gusto. “Careful you don’t choke.” He warned and the boy slowed, if only slightly. Soon the plate was empty and Beast stood nearly quivering with excitement. Cyborg grinned again as he led the shape shifter to the room with his clothes, telling the boy to pick out a training outfit.

The green child quickly began to change into some green and black spandex, tripping over the legs of his pants and getting his arms stuck in his haste. Cyborg chuckled at the shape shifter’s enthusiasm. “You’re like a cooped up dog going for a walk.”

Without a second’s thought Beast transformed into a dog, grabbing the silver belt in his mouth like a leash and barking, running around the robotic teen’s legs. Cyborg laughed and patted the boy’s head when he popped up, looking mortified at what he had done. The boy joined the laughter slightly when he saw that his Master approved of his antics, some of the last nights residual tension slipping off of his shoulders. The robotic Titan watched his green friend sadly. If only the others could see him like this, see how well he was getting along. But, like Raven said, it would take time. Just knowing that the kid was improving was enough for him for now.

      “C’mon B, let’s go.” Beast followed, seeming relieved about something, but as they neared the others he seemed more nervous than ever. The boy was practically shaking before he entered the room, something that Cyborg hadn’t seen him do in a while. The Titan stopped, looking Beast up and down. “Okay, what’s eatin’ ya? You didn’t used to be this freaked out.”

Beast shook his head, not meeting Cyborg’s eyes. When they had neared the other Masters, all of Beasts fears from the night before had risen up again. How was he supposed to tell his Master how worried he was that he was going to be sold, that the thought of leaving this tower scared him more than the thought of punishments ever had? He bit his tongue and shook his head even harder. Cyborg sighed and knelt down beside Beast but, like an upset child, the green boy refused to meet his eyes.

“Hey, I don’t know what’s got you so worried, but you don’t need to be. C’mon kid. You were so good back there and now you’re falling apart. Does Robin still freak you out cause he yelled the other day?”

Beast shook his head no. “Is it Starfire? Or Raven? I know she can scare some people.”

Again the boy shook his head. “Does all of us being together freak you out?”

Beast began to shake his head no before pausing and moving his head side to side in a so-so expression. “Kinda? But that’s not why you’re panicking is it?” Another shake. “Well, I’m not gonna force you to tell me but do you think you could relax a little. You being all tense isn’t going to do anyone any good.”

Beast forced himself to relax, nodding to Cyborg once his heart’s frantic beating slowed. “Okay, you ready?” The boy nodded and followed Cyborg into the large training area. His eyes roved over the dozens of practice machines and equipment and began to relax in earnest. This, he was used to.

Robin nodded at Beast as the two entered, walking over to them. Beast stood readily, awaiting commands. “For now I want to start you on some basic stuff, see how you do before moving on to the more complicated tests. Why don’t you start on one of the treadmills?”

Beast nodded but bit his lip and shifted from foot to foot nervously in the way that the Titans recognized as meaning that he wanted to ask a question but didn’t dare speak up. “What is it?” Robin asked.

“W-what form do you wish me to use?”

“Uh, I guess stick with human for everything today; we’ll test your normal capabilities.” The boy nodded and moved towards the equipment but Robin’s voice stopped him. “And next time you have a question just ask. I don’t like having to guess when you’re confused about something.”

Beast nodded. “Yes Robin.” He said, but a smile ghosted about his lips. Robin nodded once and Beast made his way to the machine, Robin following behind. The boy wonder walked over to the controls. Beast stood on the pad, waiting for his Master to start the machine.

“I’m going to start it a little lower than what your file said your average speed was, just to be sure, and I want you to increase the speed until you’ve reached your limit.”

Beast nodded in understanding, anticipating the start of his training. As the treadmill began to move and pick up speed, going much faster than an average person’s, he matched it with unparalleled ease. He went up in speeds quickly, amazed at how good he felt. This was the first training in years in which he was in good health, a full stomach, and no wounds. He didn’t have any cricks or muscle soreness from sleeping in a cramped cage and his clothes weren’t ragged and no longer stuck to his skin. He was feeling the effects of two nearly motionless weeks, but for the most part he’d never been in better health.

He passed his old high in no time, comfortably running at what was once his top speed. Robin kept him on the treadmill for a while, testing his endurance as well as his speed, before finally telling Beast to get off. The green boy was sweating and panting heavily, but seemed all the happier for it. The other Titans had lost interest in the running boy at various points in time and were doing their own workouts. Beast found his gaze dwelling to where Cyborg was struggling with unbelievably huge weights. No wonder dropping on him as a hippo in that first fight hadn’t worked.

Robin had Beast lift weights first, thankfully ones much smaller than Cyborg’s, and Beast found himself pleased to be succeeding in this as well. He felt his confidence growing as the day wore on, especially because Master Robin seemed pleased with him. Maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about being sold after all. The thought made him work even harder, blowing previous records out of the water. Beast had a moment to appreciate the irony that these Masters, who really pushed him the least of the Masters, made him want to do his best.

They worked for most of the day, stopping only for a small lunch before going again. Robin cited the reason being that they hadn’t had much practice the past few days for various reasons, but Beast didn’t mind. He began to grow tired as the day wore on, but it was nothing compared to the complete exhaustion he sometimes worked with. Finally Beast had been tested using each of the machines, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he’d excelled at every test.

Robin nodded at the boy as the others finished their last reps of whatever they were doing. “Good job B, I was impressed.” Beast grinned at the boy wonder, his heart soaring at the words. “Just one more thing before you rest, I want to spar with you a little. Think you can do that?”

Beast nodded eagerly, stretching his tiring muscles. He was going to be so sore tomorrow, he just knew it. Yet it was like all of his energy from the past two weeks had been released at once, he was ready for anything. “Good. Stay human though, I just want to check on your hand to hand. Your file said you had a lot of training in that, right?”

“Yep!” Beast answered with a grin, forgetting for a moment that he was trying to be careful around his masters. Robin smiled anyway and led the boy to what looked like a boxing ring at the center of the room. The other Titans all clustered around the ring, watching interestedly but non-expectantly, as though they all knew that Robin would win. Remembering the fight from when the Titans stole him, Beast couldn’t find it within himself to disagree.

He crouched low when the fight started, much lower than a normal person would have, causing Robin to watch him with confusion for a moment. However the confusion lasted not even long enough to give the boy an opening as the boy wonder quickly readied himself. The opponents circled for a while but Beast, the more impatient of the two, leaped forward in an attack. Robin deftly avoided it, jumping to a side and catching the boy with a kick to the side. Beast rolled to his feet as the kick sent him across the mat, rising up to his feet and attacking once more.

Robin paid close attention to the boy as they sparred, more watching him fight than lashing out himself. The green child was better than he thought, the files had not been lying when it mentioned his tutelage under many fighting masters. But the boy’s fighting signature was… unique to say the least. Though he kept correct technique and form, the boy seemed to get wilder, more animalistic as he fought. It kept him in the fight for longer than Robin expected, but it was also his downfall.

It was almost like Beast was intertwined with his animal instincts no matter his form, as though even as a human he was an animal. He ignored some of the more obvious pressure points, instead nearly always lunging for the neck. When he made punches and jabs he was as fast as a striking cobra, but his attacks almost always came in swipes or swings. Sometimes he would swing an inch or two short of hitting Robin, as though expecting there to be a claws at the ends of his fingertips. It slowed him down just a fraction of a second, but it was enough for Robin to land a blow hard enough to send the boy flying. Before he could rise again Robin was upon him, making it clear that the fight was over.

Beast snarled, seeming to forget a moment that he was simply sparring. In fact, he looked ready to fight again before Robin spoke. “The fight is over. Stand down.”

Immediately the fight left him and Beast was nothing but an exhausted boy, panting and defeated. Robin reached down and offered Beast a hand to help him up. At first the boy hesitated, but after a second’s pause he accepted the hand, allowing Robin to pull him to his feet. The boy wonder nodded to him. “That’s enough for today. In a few days we’ll test out your animal forms, but for now I you can just head back to your room and rest.” The Titan leader told the boy, his mind on Beast’s reaction at the end of the fight and the sparring he had seen on the DVD, battles ending only when one party was too injured to move and where surrender was no more an option than mercy. He wasn’t sure how he had expected his fight to Beast to end, but he realized that he shouldn’t have been surprised how it did.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the colorful teen turned to Cyborg. “Will you take him back? I have to take care of those calls I was talking about last night.”

Beast froze at the words, his eyes going wide even as Cyborg led him out of the room. The calls from the night before? Were they the ones that they were thinking of selling Beast to? They still wanted to sell him? He thought he had done so well. He had worked so hard. Was it the battle; was Master Robin angry at him for losing? For not ending when he was supposed to? Beast whimpered to himself as he walked into his cell, deaf to Cyborg’s words of encouragement behind him.

Beast collapsed onto his bed, despondent. He had worked so hard to stay but apparently it was not to be. He wasn’t good enough, he was too weak, too unreliable. He was… he was … he was tired. Beast slid his eyes closed, attempting to blink, but they didn’t open as he fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

 

Far away on a distant part of town a man sat at a computer screen, a fearsome smirk forming beneath a two-toned mask. Slade sorted through dozens of files he had stolen from Robin’s computer, deleting some of them immediately and saving others for later viewing. However, at the moment he had mind for only one file. He clicked on a video simply titled Beast and sat back with a malicious title to watch.


	13. Continuing Conversion

Cyborg sighed as he made his way out to the main room, flopping across the couch tiredly. He couldn’t understand B. The smallest things seemed to set him off, most of the time the Titan never even knew what the problem was. Half the time he would seem to be making great progress, then it was like a switch would flip and it felt like they were back to square one. He’d managed to be pretty well throughout training, until that final freak out during the sparring. Oh well, a whole morning and most of an afternoon without a panic attack, it could be a new record.

            He heard the door open as Raven glided into the room, watching Cyborg with one skeptical eyebrow raised. “I take it we’re calling in tonight.”

            The robotic teen sighed. “How come we never go out for dinner anymore?” He felt like he hadn’t left the tower in ages, other than for missions of course.

            “Oh, you want to leave Beast here alone while we all go out for food?”

            The large Titan sighed. “No, of course not. Yeah, call out and order a couple of pizzas I guess. I don’t feel like making anything and we let Star cook yesterday.”

            The girl nodded and began to drift to the phone, only for Cyborg’s voice to stop her. “How long do you think it’ll be before he can just come with us? I feel like there’s no way for me to know for sure if he’s really improving. One moment he’s cracking jokes and acting nearly normal, the next he’s quivering with fear.”

            The girl shook her head. “He doesn’t seem to do well in large crowds. If it were simply a matter of his actions I wouldn’t worry. He would be perfectly behaved, I’m sure, but it wouldn’t be good for his progress. Not yet at least.”

            “Yeah Yeah, he needs time bla, bla, bla. I know. It just feels like every time we get over a hurdle there’s another one waiting for us.”

            “I never said I thought it would be easy.” The girl said, finally moving away just as Robin entered the room. Cyborg shifted from his laying down position to stand.

            “Hey Rob, calls over already? That was quick.”

            “Didn’t know why I expect social advice from a man who spends most of him time in a cave.” The boy grumbled. “He wasn’t a lot of help, just saying a bunch of stuff we already knew. I did send him Beast’s files though; see if he can figure out who any of the old masters were.”

            “Great. So Rob, what was that about earlier, after you beat him in sparring?”

            Robin scowled. “He was taught to never quit until either he or his opponent was completely unable to fight back. Mercy wasn’t an option.” Cyborg cursed heavily and Robin had to agree, though he only sighed as he went to the kitchen to grab a soda. “At least we figured this out now instead of on the field or something later.”

            “About that Rob, what is it that we want for him? Are we trying to get him to become a Titan or just trying to get him over all… all this.”

            The boy wonder frowned in thought. “I guess it had all seemed the same. But… getting him normal is first priority. If he doesn’t want to be a Titan I’m not going to force him, but I’m training him like a Titan until he decides.”

            Cyborg nodded. “So you’re testing his animal forms tomorrow?”

            “Not tomorrow. After so much time of inactivity he’s going to be sore. I’ll wait a few days.”

            “Maybe tomorrow we can give movie night another go? I think repetition helps as much as anything.”

            “No harm in trying it.”

            Cyborg sighed and moved to start a video game, offing one of the controllers to Robin. The boy wonder took it without comment and Cyborg waited a moment for the game to commence before speaking again. “When I let him out a few days ago, I had him play video games before. He’d never played before so I had him play that one racing game. He was pretty bad at it, but you should have seen how excited he was when he passed that first car. For a moment, I think he forgot he was Beast, he was just a kid.”

            Any reply Robin had was cut off as the doorbell rang, Raven coming up the steps moments later carrying several boxes of pizza. Cyborg and Robin ended the game, jumping to their feet excitedly. Starfire flew into the room, hair slightly damp from a recent shower. They were starving. Cyborg swallowed two slices before piling a couple of plates high and going off to Beast’s room, snacking on a third piece as he left. As the door to the cell slid open the Cyborg started slightly in surprise.

 For the first time since Beast came the boy wasn’t standing ready in the room. Instead he was sprawled across his bed, fast asleep. The robotic Titan paused for a moment in the doorway, unsure what to do. He leaned forward to place the vegetarian plate on the bedside bench, but as he placed it on the ground Beast’s eyes shop open, sensing the cyborg’s presence. He scrambled to sitting position, his eyes widening with terror when he realized that he hadn’t risen to greet his Master. Cyborg smiled.

“Hey B, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. Hungry?”

The boy was watching him worriedly, cautiously, before nodding and accepting the plate. He kept steady eye contact with Cyborg until he received the plate, after which he devoured the meal in mere moments, his hunger rivaling and even surpassing Cyborg’s. The robotic Titan laughed as he took the empty plate. “Well then, guess you were. I’ll let you get back to sleep then.”

Beast looked up at him tiredly and collapsed onto the bed, allowing sleep to overtake him. Cyborg watched the boy for a moment, smiling. This was the first time since the first night that B had ever fallen asleep with one of the Titans in the room.

* * *

 

  Beast groaned as he woke, his eyes fluttering weakly and he turned, groaning even louder when the movement pulled at his stiff muscles. He was so sore. Training today would be murder. If he had it at least; these Masters didn’t seem to hold to any normal schedule. He scowled as he rotated his arm, working on the shoulder muscles. He used to hate his old Masters for making him train every day no matter what, but he thought he could forgive them now. With a third and final groan he sat up, wondering idly what time it was. He went to bed awfully early last night, but then he’d been so tired he might have slept more than usual. He had no clock in the room so he would just have to wait until he heard his Masters to figure it out.

The green boy grimaced when he heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Grunting he tried to rise to his feet despite his body’s protests. He allowed himself to fall back as steps neared with no sign of slowing. This wasn’t good, he was almost too sore to get up. He began to stretch, pulling at his aching muscles. He had to get a handle on this before his Master came in; he had to be able to stand at attention. Or… or did he?

Meeting his Masters at attention was something that had been ingrained into his mind from his very first Masters. It was supposed to be a symbol of respect, subservience, and ready willingness to obey. But he’d been asleep when Cyborg came in the night before, the exact opposite of willing and ready. Yet he hadn’t been mad, not at all. Maybe these Masters didn’t care about that kind of stuff. Or had he just been giving Beast a break because he was exhausted?

The shape shifter settled back on the bed. Maybe he could try and make sure, not stand up when Master Cyborg came in and see how he reacted. No. No that was stupid. He should just abide by the rules and… Wait, what were the rules? These Masters had never given him any rules other than not turning into anything smaller than a rabbit. And to obey of course, but that was a given. He didn’t really know what was expected of him, didn’t know what the boundaries were. Maybe he could… test them.

No. No no no no no. What was he thinking? This was crazy, Beast wasn’t supposed to test the boundaries; he wasn’t just supposed to avoid crossing the line he was supposed to be so far away that the line didn’t know he existed. He didn’t find rules by breaking them. Not intentionally at least. But he’d thought he’d broken rules a dozen times already and they hadn’t done anything. And didn’t Cyborg say that they wouldn’t beat him or anything as punishment. Though he only made promises for himself. This wouldn’t be the first time one Master handled training while another handled punishment. But somehow that didn’t feel right.

Maybe these Masters didn’t have as many rules, didn’t think of explaining them. Maybe they actually wanted him to figure them out by himself. Maybe it wouldn’t be bad to try testing the boundaries, just this one time. To stop the confusion and figure out what the rules are. No, that was stupid. He shouldn’t test these Masters, no matter how kind they seemed. He didn’t want to get sold. But yet… he could try, couldn’t he? It couldn’t hurt to try. Okay, technically it really could if he was punished, but it couldn’t hurt any more than he was accustomed to.

He straightened when he heard footsteps nearing, instinct screaming at him to stand, but he didn’t move, testing his theory. Before he could however, there came a loud blaring that made Beast instinctively curl up and protect his ears. Robin yelled something he couldn’t hear, but apparently it was bad because the next thing he’d hear was a platter falling in the hall and Cyborg running out.

So, no breakfast today. Oh well, he had a good few hours before they returned at least, he could try and get rid of his soreness. The boy looked over to the sink, his eyes specifically moving to the hot water tap. Standing gingerly Beast plugged the sink, filling it with scalding water. As it finally filled he shifted into a small dog, still larger than a rabbit, and submerged himself, sighing in relief as the hot water soothed his sore muscles. As he closed his eyes and relaxed the boy realized how odd this was. He would never consider anything like this with another Master, especially with a rolling video camera in the corner, but he felt more… at ease… with these Titans than he had any other Masters. It was odd. But as he sank deeper into his small pool he decided that he didn’t care.

* * *

 

The Titans didn’t reappear for hours and Beast was sitting on his bed attempting to stretch, his emotions switching back and forth from worried to bored. They hadn’t gotten him a new toy yet so now there was nothing to do in the sparse room. At all. He was getting hungry too. The boy grimaced at the thought. He used to go days without eating; now it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since his last meal and he was already craving food. He hoped his Masters would return soon, as lunchtime passed and faded into afternoon his hunger only grew.

Finally they returned, well into the afternoon. The boy jumped up when he heard the door open, his ears perked as he pressed one to the door to ensure that it truly was his Masters who entered. To his extreme relief it was. He listened as his Masters talked, the conversation mostly complaining and grumbling. It sounded like they beat the original villain just in time for lunch, only for a second to strike just as they were leaving the pizza parlor. Beast frowned, slightly put out that his Masters went to eat without getting him anything.

He shook his head. He didn’t know if they had gotten him anything or not, they’d been stopped before making it home. Besides, his other Masters would have several meals without giving him anything. At least with these he would most likely get dinner. The boy smiled and went back to his bed to relax in earnest, knowing that his Masters would usually rest for a while before anyone came to see him.

After a moment he heard the sounds of Robin walking towards his cage. His earlier resolve left him, and he began to quail at the thought of testing his Masters. The green boy stood immediately, scrambling in panic. However, he relaxed and sat back down when the colorfully dressed teen stopped in the middle of the hall, calling back to the main hall.

“Why is there a full plate in the middle of the hallway?” The boy wonder called and there was a moment of silence before Beast heard Cyborg curse loudly. The robotic teen was running down the hall and in Beast’s room so fast that the boy couldn’t have stood if he wanted to. Cyborg burst into the room, babbling semi-coherently.

“Oh man, B, sorry. You must be starving. You haven’t eaten all day and after that intense workout yesterday…” His apologies faded as he took in the scene before him. For the second time that Cyborg could remember Beast wasn’t standing at attention. However, this time the boy wasn’t asleep. He was sitting on the bed, his expression shocked at first but quickly morphing into something more similar to calculating as he watched the Titan’s reaction. Cyborg, for his part, fumbled over his words for a moment but otherwise pretending not to notice. “So, yeah, sorry. Why don’t you come with me to the kitchen and we can find you something to tide you over until dinner.”

Beast nodded and followed the teen, his gaze still calculating. He had noticed when Cyborg tripped over his words. The Titan had noticed, but hadn’t reproached him in any way. Beast decide to make his own set of rules in his mind, telling him where the boundaries lay. The first two rules were the ones his Masters had given him, but after that was stuff he had figured out on his own. As Cyborg led him to the kitchen he added another one, he didn’t have to be standing ready when the Masters came in.

Cyborg led the boy into the main room, heading straight for the kitchen with Beast in tow. As they neared Cyborg eyed the dinner supplies he’d gotten out before Robin had reminded him about Beast. He’d been planning a big meal to celebrate a hard day’s work, but it wouldn’t be ready for another hour at least. On the other hand he didn’t want to spoil Beast’s dinner. Not that the kid ever had a problem with eating. He sighed, “You mind just grabbing a snack for now? Dinner will be ready in about an hour and I promise I’ll make you an extra big helping.”

Beast just smiled and nodded, following the larger teen to the counter and eyeing the ingredients for dinner appreciatively. Cyborg grinned at the smaller boy. “Great, sorry about all this. Go ahead and take what you want from the kitchen.”

Beast’s eyes raked over the food, slightly overwhelmed by the choices it offered. It was still fairly well stocked from the day before and the options were practically limitless. Beast had never had the opportunity to choose his own food before, and now he was so hungry that everything looked good. He didn’t know what to choose. The boy paused, biting his lip and rocking back on his heels as he tried to decide. Cyborg sighed, interpreting his hesitation as the insecurity that so often plagued the shape shifter. Beast, recognizing the sigh as one of wearied disappointment, made a move to grab something randomly, but Cyborg moved before he did. Thinking that the boy was uncomfortable with being asked to choose, the cyber-Titan decided for him.

“Here, how about an apple.” He said, tossing the fruit to Beast. “If that’s not enough you can always get something else too.”

Beast took a large bite out of the apple the instant he got a grip on it, eyeing the fruit in his hands as he chewed. The white of the bite, the red of the apple skin, and the green of his hands made an interesting contrast. He peeked up at Cyborg as he took another bite. He knew that the Titan was upset that he didn’t chose for himself. Beast rolled his eyes slightly, these Masters got disgruntled or happy at the strangest things. Still, he didn’t want Master Cyborg upset anymore, even if he wasn’t angry at him.

Beast’s eyes scanned the room. All of the other Titans had disappeared into various parts of the tower. That was good, he wasn’t as comfortable talking in front of them as he was with Cyborg. With Starfire it didn’t matter as much, she could practically hold a conversation with herself and it was easy for him to answer to her kind smile. Raven liked silence, that was obvious, but because of that the quiet was never awkward. Beast wasn’t instinctually a creature of silence, but his Masters had trained him to be seen and not hear so he was accustomed to not speaking. Still, he treasured every conversation he could get out of the girl, every half-smile.

Master Robin was the worst though, if for no reason other than that he was the leader. It got Beast tongue tied in a way that had everything to do with the boy wonder’s authority position and nothing to do with his personality. Especially because he would be the one who would ultimately decide to sell Beast. However, he certainly felt much more able to talk with Robin than any other masters.

Cyborg was still the easiest to talk to however, the one who was the most eager for Beast to talk back. The green boy cradled the fruit in his hands, glancing at the robotic Titan as he stepped out on a limb to cheer him up. “Hey Cyborg.” The boy called softly, his voice low as he shifted nervously. “What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?” He asked, and Cyborg gaped at him, uncomprehending and confused.  

“Huh?”

“Finding half of one.” The boy finished with a timid grin. Cyborg stared at him for a moment before laughing uproariously, making Beast jump. It wasn’t really that the joke was that funny- if anything it was lame and overused, he’d heard it a million times before- but Cyborg could hardly believe that timid little B would just say a joke like that. Raven said that she’d sensed humor in the boy, but there really had been no hint of it before other than a few small things that may or may not have been jokes.

Beast’s grin widened at Cyborg’s reaction and he took another huge bite of the apple, cleaving it in half. His eyes fell to his hands again as the grin turned into a small smirk. “I have one about bananas too but it’s not as a-peel-ing.”

Cyborg chuckled and ruffled Beast’s hair as the ginning boy finished his snack. “Alright, alright kid. Good ones. I’d better get started cooking though if you want dinner anytime tonight. If you want you can head over there and play video games again. I think it’s still set up from Robin after breakfast, you just have to turn the TV on.”

Beast began to move only to stop, looking back at Cyborg. That was one of the weird commands that didn’t sound like they were really commands, they almost sounded like suggestions. With a deep breath the boy moved back to where he’d been standing and directly disobeyed the suggestion, instead choosing to watch Cyborg cook. He’d never watched anyone cook before, he was curious. Also, he was supposed to be testing the boundaries today, and finding out if he was really supposed to obey the not-commands would really help ease his confusion.

Cyborg looked up after a moment when he realized he hadn’t heard the video game start. He jumped slightly when he saw Beast, but the boy’s eyes seemed to be transfixed on the Cyborg’s hand which was rapidly chopping onions, going faster than any normal person because he didn’t fear getting cut. After a second the green boy sensed the Cyborg’s gaze and met his eyes, resuming the wary but calculating look he’d had earlier in his room. The large teen smiled but otherwise chose to ignore the boy and continue cooking dinner, letting Beast do as he pleased. After a while however, he grew uncomfortable with such intense scrutiny.

“You know, you could sit down if you like.” Cyborg offered. Beast blinked at him and shuffled slightly, but otherwise didn’t move. He’d been sitting all day pretty much, and standing stretched his muscles a little bit. Also, he had yet to truly feel comfortable sitting around his Masters. When they were in his cell and he was in his bed it was different. That was his territory, he was at ease there. As for the rest of the tower, not so much. Like most pets he usually wasn’t allowed on the furniture. Even though he knew that the Titans had different rules than his old masters, it still felt unnatural.

Cyborg looked down at the enraptured boy, a small smile hinting at his lips. “Well then, if you’re going to stand there watching me, do you wanna help out?”

Beast brightened, a huge smile appearing at his lips. “Can I?” He asked excitedly and Cyborg chuckled.

“Sure why not. C’mere, I’ll teach ya how to make some of your gross tofu crap, that way I won’t have to make it.”

Beast just grinned, watching intensely as Cyborg showed him how to work the stove. The Titan chuckled at the Boy’s enthusiasm. “First time in the kitchen?”

Beast nodded. “I’d never even seen anyone cook before.” He admitted, poking his tofu patty with a spatula warily. Cyborg laughed, returning to his own preparations.

“Just stick with me kid, I’ll make you a regular Bobby Flay in no time!”

Beast looked up to him blankly, not understanding the reference, but Cyborg just waved the boy’s confusion off, telling him not to worry about it and just cook. Beast did as he was told, internally musing as he watched his food. He was happy with the progress he’d made today, he’d learned a lot about the “rules”. It bothered him slightly that, as far as boundaries went, he had yet to reach any, but he managed to ignore the misgivings in favor of being content with knowing what he could do rather than fear what he couldn’t. Still, he decided that he would obey his Master’s next order, direct command or not. He was done being brave for the day, done testing the limits.

Dinner was finished soon enough, the scent of food drawing the other Titans into the room. Many of them seemed surprised to see Beast cooking, but got over their shock quickly. In fact, Starfire seemed almost excited, immediately offering cooking lessons for the boy. None of the Masters seemed to think that it was a good idea, but Beast couldn’t decline.

The teens decided to watch the movie while they ate, settling into the couch with food and drinks scattered around. Beast took a timid seat next to Cyborg, relaxing when none of the Titans seemed to mind. He was still slightly tense when the movie began, feeling Robin’s scrutiny, but as the story progressed and Beast’s empty stomach filled he was able to forget the Titan leader, losing himself in the show. He didn’t laugh out loud as some did, nor did he tear up at the sad parts, cheer at the action, or gasp at the suspenseful scenes. He wasn’t that relaxed yet. But, he allowed himself to lose his tension, falling back against the couch and watching the movie. And to Beast’s joy when Cyborg asked him his favorite part, the boy could actually answer.

* * *

 

Deep in the bowels of a villainous lair, Slade was watching a movie of a different sort. He smiled as he the green boy on the screen completed a rigorous training sequence in seconds. This was the third time watching the file he’d stolen from Robin. The first time was for fun, the second in case he missed something, and now he was watching the Masters, the men who had trained the boy. He grinned, watching for tells or hints to their identity. No matter how many informants Batman boasted, he’d never have nearly as many as a villain such as Slade. He grinned as he circled a name, eyes locked on the screen as he finally discovered the identity of the boy second Master. His eyes lit on the boy’s collar with a grin. Maybe he would give the man a call.


	14. Internal Improvement

Beast’s improvement skyrocketed after that night. As he tested his boundaries more and more he began to realize just how lax these Masters were, how much they liked it when he went against his old training. Of course, it helped that was let out of his room more and more often. He was with at least one of the Titans almost the entire day, training or not, and was mostly in his cell only to sleep or when the Titans left to fight.

Robin said that maybe someday Beast would be allowed to fight with them. It made him excited and he worked much harder in training because of it. Every other day they found themselves in the gym, practicing, training, and testing their strength. Specifically Beast’s. Just like any other Masters, the Titans were curious about the extent of his strength and just what he could do. However, while the training was strenuous it wasn’t as grueling or torturous as it had been before the Titans. In fact, as he grew more and more comfortable with the Titans he sometimes even had fun. In fact it was in training, about five days after he decided to take risks, that he went out on a limb and finally made a joke with someone other than Cyborg.

Master Robin had told him that they were testing his avian forms that day and Beast was flying around the training area, the machines creating a makeshift obstacle course and he shifted to avoid them. Robin would continually call out bird names, making Beast shift and have to alter his course to account for his different size and wingspan. Every once in a while Raven, who was practicing levitating several small objects at a time, would place obstacles in his path. It wasn’t until Robin called for a small break that the joke occurred to him.

Taking a deep breath Beast turned into a parrot and called out a bird of his own. “Raven!” He cawed, turning into the dark bird for a second as the purple-haired Titan looked to him. He cawed once and turned back into the parrot, calling out the title of another avian. “Duck!” And he swooped low towards the empath, diving down so low in his mallard form that Raven had to crouch down to avoid his swooping wings.

When the girl was standing straight again Beast stood beside her, human once more. A huge grin was upon his lips, the boy seemed exceedingly proud of his pun, but Raven could sense the wary and nervous tension tumbling in his mind as he waited for the girl’s reaction. Cyborg was snickering by the weights as Starfire asked a surprised Robin to explain why Beast had seemingly tried to attack Raven, but the green boy only had eyes for her.

The dark girl rolled her eyes. “You aren’t funny.” She deadpanned, and Beast cringed slightly before noticing the content not-smile on the girl’s lips, telling him it was okay. The boy brightened slightly.

“Yeah, sorry. That was a fowl one.” He said, his grin strengthening as he moved his eyes-brows up and down in an excited manner. Raven only scowled in response before moving away.

“I repeat, not funny.”

But Beast’s grin only broadened.

On the days they didn’t train the Titans would almost always watch a movie during or after dinner, depending on whether or not a villain had kept them out late. Beast had gradually grown more and more comfortable as he sat surrounded by all of his Masters. Slowly relaxing and allowing his emotions to flow more freely. Finally, about a week into the movie nights, he reached for a piece of popcorn without having been offered the bowl. He made sure that Cyborg was watching as he grabbed the snack, showing that he wasn’t trying to get away with anything or steal food, but after he had grabbed the corn Cyborg simply smiled again and after Beast tentatively returned the look the two resumed watching the movie.

When they were neither training nor watching movies, Beast usually followed whichever Master had released him from his room that day. Sometimes he chatted in the kitchen with Starfire or relaxed as a cat beside a meditating Raven. He was happy with the Titans in his- his home, so relieved to be there that he cared not what he was doing.  However, his favorite thing to do was play video games with Cyborg or Robin. It was fun and it was challenging, but it was also completely novel. He had never done anything similar to playing video games before and therefore the game playing brought up no frightening or painful memories.

 In fact, the memories and mental scars previously consuming him were continually being shoved farther and farther back into his mind, overshadowed by his new and comfortable life. Oh, they were still there, festering and plaguing his dreams, but they no longer frequented his waking moments. The Titans noticed it as well. Where in the beginning he would revert back to a prone and trembling mess a few times a day, the frequencies lessoned until it was only once a day, then every other day, then every once in a blue moon.

Certain things still set him off, but not so many as before. To the Titan’s confusion he seemed to stiffen whenever Robin mention the call he’d made to his mentor, flinching outright whenever the leader mentioned calling him back or wondering aloud why he had yet to get a reply. However, when asked Beast would day nothing, either changing the subject or simply remaining silent.

Other than these slight and infrequent lapses, the boy was making tremendous progress towards shaking off the fetters of his old Masters and becoming… well, he would never be normal, but the closest to it he could be. Robin was the most shocked at the speed of Beast’s success, especially after how worried he’d been at first, when it seemed to be taking so long. In fact, to the other Titans’ surprise he was the one to suggest the next step to giving the boy freedoms. It was a training day, after the work was over but before dinner and Cyborg had just been laying down a big slab of beef for dinner when Beast had timidly walked up to him and sniffed at the meat before saying, ever so softly.

“Meat is bad.”

Cyborg was so taken aback that he looked like he’d been knocked off of his feet. “What did you say?”

“Meat is bad.” But that time the boy smiled timidly and Cyborg began to grin.

“Nah, you just don’t have any taste buds kid.” He teased.

“How can you eat that? I turn into cows, it’s like you’re eating me.”

Cyborg took a humongous bite of the now cooked steak. “Then you’re delisious!”

Beast, as well as many of the other Titans, scrunched his nose in disgust. “You’re gross.” He stated before tucking into his own salad. Cyborg cast the room a grin before digging in himself.

When he had taken the boy back to his room he emerged into the main room complaining loudly.

“I don’t like it.”

“What is it that grieves you?” Starfire asked, gazing at her friend worriedly.

“B. I know he’s making good progress and all- I mean, he was even teasing me and joking around at dinner- but I still feel like we’re forcing him too much, like he doesn’t have the freedom to choose what he wants to do, or at least doesn’t know he has it.”

Robin nodded with the air of someone whose thoughts had been in the same place. “I’ve been thinking about that too. We’re either making him stay in his room or forcing him to do what we’re doing. I think he’s progressed enough that if we gave him the chance he would be able to choose for himself.”

“What are you proposing we do?” Raven intoned, setting down her book and nearing the group. Robin turned to Cyborg.

“Tomorrow, after you give him his breakfast, don’t wait for him to finish like normal. Instead, leave after giving it to him, and leave the door open. We’ll see what he does from there.”

“I don’t know Rob, wouldn’t it be easier just to tell him he has free reign of the place?”

Raven spoke, cutting off whatever the Boy wonder’s answer may have been. “No, Robin is right. If we tell him to come and go as he pleases he’ll see it as an order and nothing will have been gained. He must discover the freedom for himself in order for it to truly be freedom.”

Cyborg had no reply to that, so he said nothing and the next morning the robotic teen left a large plate, heaped high with waffles, butter, and syrup, in the green Boy’s room and left with barely a parting word. The door stood open behind him.

  Beast was half-way through breakfast before he noticed, but when he did he froze. Completely and utterly froze, a full fork an inch away from his open and food-filled mouth as a trail of syrup slowly drizzled down his chin. He remained that way for a long time before slowly and nervously finishing his meal, his gaze never turning from the open door. Had Cyborg expected him to follow? But he hadn’t said anything. He must have just forgotten to close it; that was all.

 Finally the boy finished the meal, gently laying the plate in the sink and returning his gaze to the door. Every once in a while a Titan would pass his cage, going to and from the main room, but none looked his way. No one seemed to notice the open door.

It took a long while for him to relax enough to get out a ball, even longer for him to start tossing it to himself, and longer still to turn his eyes from the entrance and start playing fetch with himself as he usually did when alone. That being said it was almost lunchtime before he began to truly relax and play like normal. The ball was flying and bouncing around the room, ricocheting off walls as he caught it in various animal forms. It was only a matter of time before the green boy missed and it went flying out the open door.

Beast crouched in front of the door in horror, watching the ball as it began to slowly roll back. His heart nearly beating out of his chest as he prayed it would make its way back into the room. He groaned in despair and frustration when the ball stopped halfway in the hall. Still the boy didn’t move, frozen in horror. He couldn’t just go get it, couldn’t just leave his cell without a Masters order. It simply wasn’t done. Except in an emergency of course.  But…. But his ball was _right there!_ It was feet away, he wouldn’t even have to actually leave the room, just reach out an arm. The Titans weren’t there, no one would know. His gaze turned back to the security camera. But he was sure that they’d stopped watching that weeks ago.

Slowly, with a heavily shaking arm he broke the pane of the room, reaching for his ball. Everything was silent; no alarms sounded when he reached out, no Titans stormed the room. However, that did nothing to calm the boy’s nerves and by the time he’d leaned out enough to reach the ball his hand was shaking so much that rather than grabbing the ball, he accidentally knocked it farther away.

Beast whined deep in the back of his throat as the ball rolled towards the door separating the hall from the main room. He watched in horror as it slipped farther away. Once again he froze in a crouched position, his eyes locked on the small bit of blue rubber. Finally he began to slowly creep out of the room, horror consuming his stomach as he made his way past testing the boundaries and bending whats right or wrong, it was going straight into what had always been forbidden. Finally he made it, grasping the ball as he prepared to dart back into his room, only to freeze in horror as the door to the main room slid open, revealing Cyborg in his robotic glory. Beast whimpered and curled upon himself, terrified in ways he hadn’t been in weeks.

* * *

 

In the main room there had been a constant stream of Beast’s cell, each Titan alternating between watching Beast’s reaction and their own everyday activities. It wasn’t looking good. The kid wasn’t responding as well as they’d hoped. Finally, about half an hour after they normally would have had lunch Cyborg couldn’t take watching the kid crouch in the doorway looking for his ball anymore. He grabbed a tray, heaped it high with food and made his way to the kid. He didn’t care what Robin and Raven said about ‘figuring out freedoms’ or whatever. All he knew that B was terrified. Again. And he had to stop it.

He paused in shock when the door slid open to reveal Beast in the center of the hallway, crouched around his ball. B took one glance at the Titan before whimpering and curling into a ball. Cyborg sighed mentally but decided to go with Robin and Raven’s plan. For now. He smiled and knelt down beside the boy, moving to ruffle the kid’s hair only to stop as the kid flinched away from the movement. The robotic man shook his head; if Robin made this kid worse he would have to answer to one angry semi-robot.

“Hey B,” He said softly, kindly. “What are you doing down there? It’s almost lunchtime. Your plate from breakfast is still in your room, right?”

Beast glanced up timidly at the kind tone, accepting Cyborg’s hand when the Titan offered it. He was silent as the larger teen led him to his room and picked up the plate, leaving Beast to eat his lunch. However, as Cyborg acted as though nothing was wrong, Beast followed the example, going with the Titan as he left the room that time and the night proceeded as normal. Until bedtime that is, when Cyborg once again left the door wide open.

The next day started out much like the one before, with Cyborg leaving Beast alone in the room after handing over his breakfast. However, this time when a Titan walked past the room, Robin as it happened to be, Beast left the room of his own violation and watched the Titan carefully for any anger, any surprise. There was none. No one seemed to notice that he’d left the room on his own, and if anything their smiles were even larger.

At first it was little different than before. He still latched on a certain Titan and followed them around, and always retreated to his room at night or during an attack when the Titans weren’t home. Then one day they came back and he came out to greet them. The next night he’d been curled up on the couch waiting for them to return. One night Starfire had woken for a glass of water and had glanced inside his cell, only to find that he wasn’t there. He was sleeping in the bottom bunk of the room with his clothes.

Sometimes rather than following one Titan for most of the day he inexplicably switched to a different one. Eventually he started playing video games or watching television by himself and at times he would ask one of the other Titans to play a game with him. Soon he and Cyborg were playing catch (honestly more like fetch) in the halls per the boy’s request. Sometimes he wouldn’t be following or playing with any of the Titans, just relaxing by himself. Often these times found him leaning against a window pane, looking out to the sunny ocean and wide open skies with longing in his eyes. He never said anything about it though. He was content, happy even, with his life. Happier than he had ever been before, he wouldn’t dream of asking for anything to change. The Titans still noticed.

Starfire was the first to act upon it though, floating up to Robin on a particularly nice evening. “Shall we perhaps go out to the roof and play the ball of volley?” she turned back to look at Beast, once again leaning against the glass pane. “All of us?”  

Robin glanced at the boy, following Starfire’s gaze. It _was_ about time they let him out in the sun for a while. The kid was part animal for crying out loud, it was probably killing him to be cooped up inside all of the time. He hadn’t left the tower since his brief escapade with Cyborg weeks ago, and who knew how long they’d been out that day. Cyborg refused to tell them what they’d done, convinced that Robin would be upset.

If they were playing a game it would be easy to keep an eye on the kid, make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. And the boy wonder couldn’t say no to Star, not when she was giving him _those_ eyes. The brightly-colored teen smiled. “Sure Star, go on and set up the net, I’ll get everyone to meet on the roof.”

The girl squealed and clasped her hands, rushing up the stairs. Beast had looked over at the word roof, though he turned away the instant Robin looked at him, trying not to seem like he’d been eavesdropping. Robin smiled, calling out to the room at large that they were having a volleyball game on the roof. Cyborg jumped up immediately, Beast mirroring him, and began trash talking. Raven rolled her eyes.

“Pass.”

“C’mon Raven!” Cyborg implored. “At least come up and referee or something.” The girl sighed but closed her book and followed the rest of the Titans made their way outside. Beast paused as the cool wind brushed against his face, relishing in the sunlight on his skin and fresh air in his lungs. Cyborg smiled grimly at the boy and shared a look with the frowning Robin, their thoughts identical as they saw the kid’s joy. They should have done this a long time ago. The moment was broken as Starfire yelled.

“Friends! The net is set and we may begin out recreation!”

Robin chuckled slightly. “Alright, since Raven doesn’t want to play I guess we’ll play doubles.” He saw Beast’s brow furrow in confusion, counting off the Titans before realizing that the boy wonder was including him, after which an enormous smile erupted across his face as he moved over to stand on the court besides Starfire. He looked both ways along the perimeter and the net.

“How do you play?” He asked, cocking his head to Robin. Cyborg smiled as the boy wonder began to explain the rules. A few weeks ago Beast wouldn’t have dared to ask a question outright, and even if he would he certainly wouldn’t have asked Robin, who intimidated him. It was the little things that helped him realize just how far the kid had come. That realization strengthened when Beast asked if powers were allowed in the game, when previously the subject was treated as an absolute taboo.

That night was a vicious and long battle of a white ball sailing across the net. The games went slowly at first, as Beast struggled to learn, but by the end of the night each Titan was at wit’s end trying to outplay the other teams, teams that changed each game.

After that night a new tradition was added, and Beast was taken to the roof at least once a week to play something. Raven, who often went to the rocks at the island’s edge to meditate, found herself allowing the green boy to lay beside her as a cat and soak in the rays as she relaxed. Starfire would invite the boy to go flying with her, under the supervision of at least one other Titan, something that Cyborg found inexplicably hilarious.

Soon they had found almost all of his mental triggers and snuffed them out, until nothing of the old seemed to affect the boy. All of them, it seemed, but one. But the Titans would discover that only a week after playing the first Volley ball match, once Robin finally got a reply from his mentor. Batman had several suspects about who may be Beast’s old masters, from free criminals, to jailbirds, to bodies in cemeteries. All he needed was the kid to confirm their identities. He didn’t have a complete list at the moment, but at least this way he could know that he’d gotten some of them right. Beast had just strolled into the main room as Robin was about to end the call, headed for the kitchen.

“B!” Robin called, for none of them called him Beast anymore. The boy turned at his voice.

“What’s up?” He asked, the novelty of speaking to the Titan so casually still causing a shiver to run down his spine.

Robin gestured to the imposing figure on the screen. “This is Batman, my mentor. I called him a few weeks ago-“ Beast shuddered, an action missed by neither of the detectives- “and he’s been trying to find your old, uh, owners to arrest them but he needs help identifying them. I’ve been planning on sending you to him so that you can help.”

Beast looked like he’d been hit by a truck. He was completely tense and frozen, his eyes widening in horror and for a long moment everything was still. “B?” Robin asked in concern, taking a step near the terrified boy even as Batman leaned forward in his chair.

Slowly one of Beast’s hands rose to brush the unused collar that still hung around his neck, his voice coming out as a scant whisper when he finally spoke. “You’re selling me?” He breathed, horror dripping off of every word and Robin stepped back, dread pooling in his stomach.

“O- of course not!” He cried, suddenly understanding why the boy was always so jumpy when they talked about the phone call. “No no no! W-we aren’t selling you! I promise! There was absolutely no money or anything!”

But Beast just whimpered, long buried fears suddenly becoming uprooted in his mind. “You’re just giving me away?” How could this happen? He’d done what he was told, obeyed all of the rules, made his Masters happy, he had done everything right but they were still getting rid of him. Not only that but they were so eager to wash their hands of the shapefshifter that they were willing to just give him away, despite his rather substantial value. This was all his fault! He had done something wrong, what was it? They were going to make him leave and he didn’t even know why. Almost immediately his mind was thrown back, far from the boy he was becoming and back into the mind of the beast he once was. “H-have I not pleased you Ma- Robin?” Great, he’d nearly misspoke another mistake.

“No no, that not- of course you’ve pleased us, it’s just… It isn’t permanent or anything, he just needs your help in the investigation like he’s borrowing- no, not borrowing cause you aren’t property- he’s just… you’re just going to help him for a little while then-“ Robin sighed. Beast was still looking at him with those large, agonized eyes with that broken expression, so much like that first night. He’d messed up with the ‘master’ thing too, first time in months. Robin looked back to the screen, noticing that Batman had his concerned-scowl on under the mask. The boy wonder sighed once more, praying that he hadn’t just undone months of building the little guy’s trust.

“Never mind B, forget any of this ever happened for now. Just… just go find Cyborg.” The green boy nodded emphatically and practically ran out of the room, making Robin collapse to the chair and press a hand against his mask in exasperation. The mentor and protégé said nothing for a good, long moment. Finally Robin spoke. “I guess he wasn’t as far along as I thought. He’s not going to be ready for this for a while apparently.”

The dark knight grunted in agreement, a full scowl on his face. “I don’t think he’ll really trust an arrangement like this until that collar is off.”

Robin sighed. “I know, but I’m not ready to take it off yet. Not when he can go from normal kid to… to _that_ in less than a minute.”

Once again an agreeing grunt. Suddenly alarms bathed the batcave in flashing colors and without a so much as goodbye, Batman was gone, leaving Robin with nothing to do but deal with the mentally scarred green kid  in the garage. When he entered he found a despondent Beast Boy sitting in the passenger seat of the T-car as a worried Cyborg tried to coax him into talking in more than the one to two word answers to his questions. Robin winced, it was just like old times and it was all his fault. Cyborg glared at the boy wonder the moment he entered.

“B, go play with Star for a bit.”

Immediately the boy disappeared, looking back once with terror as he left. Cybrog continued to glare at the Titan leader. “What did you do?”

Robin groaned. “Batman called back. He found some people who might be it, but needed B to make sure. The kid came in during the call so I tried to introduce him and tell him that he was going to go to Gotham to help but he… kinda freaked out.”

“Freaked out how?”

“He thought we were selling him.”

Cyborg growled and began to throttle a nearby crowbar as Robin continued. “When I tried to convince him otherwise I kinda… worded it wrong and he thought we were planning on just giving him away because he didn’t ‘please’ us enough.”

Cyborg began to growl and pace. “No wonder the kid was actin’ so weird, almost like in the beginning. He thinks he’s messed up and is trying to fix it by doing the only thing he knows has worked in the past and going back to- to Beast!”

“He doesn’t realize we’re trying to make him something more than a pet.”

“Of course he doesn’t Robin! I can barely tell he isn’t a pet!”

“What do you mean? We don’t treat him anything like his other masters did.”

“Yeah, we don’t treat him like they did, like a slave or gladiator or weapon, but that doesn’t change that we treat him like a dog!”   

“What are you-“

“Think about it Rob! We feed him, give him water, take care of him, make sure he’s clean, we’ll play with him, take him out to the backyard- or roof- and play games with him. If we’re all busy we’ll just ignore him and leave him to his own devises. We teach him new tricks in the training room. He greets us when we come home and is waiting by the door as we leave. If I heard anyone else say that I’d assume they were talking about the family poodle! He even has a collar still for crying out loud.”

“I’m not-“

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t wanna take the collar off. I understand that, but when are we going to make the transition from pet to Titan, cause the longer he’s our pet the harder it’s gonna be.”

“Fine, let’s just throw him out there the next time we face a super villain.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

“Then what do you suppose we do? ‘Cause I just saw a few months of hard work go right out the window during one stupid video chat!”

Cyborg sighed, shaking his head slowly. “The kid needs to get out more Robin, and I mean actually out of the tower, not just taking him to the roof. How can he fight for the people of Jump if he’s never seen any of them? We were planning on going out for pizza Friday, right? Now, he’s coming with us.”

Robin sighed. “So now we’re taking the dog out for walkies?” He smirked and Cyborg chuckled softly. “I guess taking him to the city would have been the next logical step anyways.”

“Good.”

Robin sighed once more and looked guiltily back to the door where Beast had just disappeared. Cyborg clasped a large hand onto his shoulder. “As for the whole ‘months of work out the window’ thing I wouldn’t worry too much. He was a little freaked, but he’ll be fine. Besides, I’m pretty sure the girls are together. Raven’ll calm him down and Star’ll make him be happy again.”

“I guess you’re right. Come on, let’s go and clear this whole mess up.” 

* * *

 

When the finally found the three they were on the roof, flying together. Raven swooped down upon the two the instant the door opened, glaring. “What did you do?”

Cyborg lifted his hands in surreneder. “It was Robin’s fault! Not mine!”

The girl turned her glare to the spiky-haired teen. “Then you can explain why he was convinced we were giving him away. I just calmed him down.”

“It was just a misunderstanding, he-“ But the boy stopped when he saw that the other two had finally noticed his and Cyborg’s arrival. Starfire quickly landed on the roof beside Raven, Beast landing as well and dwelling nervously along the back of the group. Robin immediately zeroed in on the shape shifter.

“B. Listen to me.” He hated how the boy’s ears perked to utmost attention at the command. “I wasn’t trying to sell you, or give you away. I’m not going to make you leave. When was the last time any of us made you do something you didn’t want to do?”

“Never.” Beast mumbled after a moment of silence.

“Right. We aren’t going to get rid of you the second it becomes convenient. You aren’t the mindless weapon you were taught to be. I thought we had already proved that we weren’t like your other Masters.”

“You have.” The boy answered once again.

“Then you have to trust me. You’re here with us for the long run.”

A small smile began to steal across Beast’s lips, the grin growing larger and larger as he found no hint of lie or deception in the Titan’s eyes. Finally it strengthened into his broadest grin and the boy nodded excitedly.

“Good.” Robin said, satisfied. “And don’t worry about going to Gotham. You don’t have to go for a while. Also, this Friday-“

Before the Titan could finish the tower erupted into noise and light as the alarm sounded and without another word Beast was heralded into the tower as the Titans scattered, leaving the boy alone in the tower once more as they went to save the people of Jump.

* * *

 

Things were completely back to normal as Friday rolled around, Beast sitting in front of the TV idly watching a vegetarian cooking show and trying to ignore the sounds of the Titans preparing to leave the tower. He only acknowledged it when Cyborg moved in front of the television, grinning broadly for reasons the green boy couldn’t understand. Well, maybe he could. It must be nice to leave the tower every once in a while, go out to the city and see normal people.

 Not that Beast would ever complain of course. He’d been granted even more freedoms over the past few days. Two days ago Raven had left him asleep on the rocks _alone_ , and yesterday Robin made Starfire come in while they were playing on the roof but let him stay up, once again alone. Beast had actually dared to go out to the roof alone to sunsoak earlier that day and when Cyborg saw him he didn’t say anything! Oh yeah, speaking of Cyborg he was currently blocking the TV, smiling like a maniac. Beast grinned and leaned back against the couch.

“What’s up?”

“We’re going out for pizza for dinner.” He said, as if it was the best news in the world. Beast, who was anticipating a night alone with only the TV for company, didn’t share the temperament.

“Sweet. Have fun. Are you bringing me something back or do I have to try out one of these recipes?”

Cyborg’s grin strengthened. “Neither! You’re coming with us.”

Beast gaped for a moment. “I- I’m going with you?” The robotic Titan nodded, Beast still watching him incrediously. “To the Pizza place.” Another nod. “In the city.” Yet another. After another second or two of gaping Beast whooped and jumped to his feet, rushing to his room to change out of his training outfit into something more appropriate for his first city visit.

Cyborg chuckled as he watched the boy run off, especially when Raven sulked it a moment later and sat back on the couch with a groan. “There’s too much happy. I’m getting a headache.”

Cyborg simply laughed, grinning broadly as Beast ran into the room a moment later, Starfire and Robin hot on his heels. The boy’s first visit to the pizza parlor passed without incident, he was so excited that his was practically bouncing on in his seat, and didn’t even comment of Cyborg’s double decker Meat lover’s pizza, despite the pair’s meat/veggie debate that had become usual at meals.  

The next few visits went much the same and Beast found that as more time passed the more non-pizza-related trips they took. The day after the fourth trip to the Pizza parlor Starfire ordered him into wearing a blindfold. In all actuality it wasn’t the first time one of his Masters had done that, he’d had many a day set to testing his skills without sight. However, if her grin was anything to go by, this wasn’t some spontaneous training. The alien herded all of the teens into the car, refusing to let Beast know where they were going, though the rest of the Titans seemed to know. When the vehicle finally stopped Beast made a move to remove the blindfold, but a yell from the rest of the Titans stopped him and the green boy remained sightless until he was actually out of the car.

His nose and ears twitched as years of training kicked in and he took stock of his surroundings. Wherever it was there were people _everywhere_. He could smell sweat, shampoos and soap, and a whole assortment of different foods. Laughter and the sounds of balls and Frisbees hitting the soft flesh of hands intermixed with chattering and… the rustle of leaves? His nose flaring once more the boy noticed a hint of grass and nature under the scents of humans. His mind stuttered in confusion and disbelief until Starfire yanked the blindfold off with a bright “Ta-da!”.

Beast froze, eyeing the scene in shock. In front of him stood a large expanse of green grass, beautiful and meeting with a clear blue sky. People milled all around at wooden tables and grills, children played with balls and Frisbees and dogs. A playground stood in a corner, filled with happily babbling children. Yet Beast’s eyes were not of the food, nor the play equipment, not any of the people, but his gaze was catching every tree, each bush and flower, leading up to the forest as he breathed in deeper and deeper, coveting the clear scent of nature his instincts excelled in which he had been denied so often in life.

He had forgotten of the Titans standing behind him until Starfire spoke. “We thought you wood enjoy a day at the park to partake in the out- cooking and playing of games.”

            Beast said nothing more for a moment, eyeing the green of the trees and grass and scenting the surrounding nature. Then he whirled, overcome by excitement and threw his arms around Starfire in a hug that would have been bone crushing for any non-tamaranian. Suddenly the boy froze, his heart fluxuating in his chest in insecurity. He had never initiated contact with a Master before. He had long since stopped being afraid of the Titans, but he still was unsure of what-

            His thoughts stopped abruptly as Starfire returned the hug with double his enthusiasm and all oxygen to his brain stopped. “Oh, joyous!” She cried as she released the boy with a grin. “Come, let us commence in the fun having!”

            Beast was deaf to her words, practically vibrating with excitement that so intense that it gave Raven a headache. The girl sighed, a hint of fondness hidden beneath a veil of frustration. “The games can wait. Let him go explore first.”

            Not even Robin bothered to protest that Beast would be wandering in his element alone, and the green boy whirled on the girl. Whether it was the positive response he had gotten from hugging Starfire or simply a moment of extreme stupidity, the boy flung his arms around the purple haired empath with a bright grin upon his face. Raven stiffened and each of the Titans gave a sharp intake of breath, warily eyeing the pair, Starfire was barely able to get away with hugging her, and they’d switched brains once. Beast tensed as well, as though sensing something was wrong.

 Still, the boy lasted three full seconds longer than anyone would guess before being encased in dark magic and thrown at a tree, and despite Raven’s warning not to touch her again, her eyes remained amused as without pause the child turned into a squirrel and clambered up the tree, flying off into the woods as he reached the higher branches.

 Unfortunately the trip was cut short as the Titans were called away to fight some magician robbing a jewelry store. Cyborg ordered B to fly back to the tower and wait for them there while they protected the city, much to the boy’s disappointment. However, the next time an outing was interrupted by the communicators ringing in alarm it was the Hive three, long since escaped from jail and looting the museum. Robin glanced at Beast, eager and experienced with fighting these particular foes. And even while the green boy was expecting to hear the command “go” Robin said “come, fight”.


	15. FYI

I just wanted all of my readers to know that I have not given up on this story, I actually have several chapters written, but the site is acting weird. The formatting is all messed up unless I have it in Rich text, but it won't let me go out of HTML. As soon as I can I will post the next chapter, don't worry it's coming out soon. Thank you!


	16. Turning Titan

_Cyborg ordered B to fly back to the tower and wait for them there while they protected the city, much to the boy’s disappointment. However, the next time an outing was interrupted by the communicators ringing in alarm it was the Hive three, long since escaped from jail and looting the museum. Robin glanced at Beast, eager and experienced with fighting these particular foes. And even while the green boy was expecting to hear the command “go” Robin said “come, fight”._

            Cyborg looked ready to protest, but when Beast jumped to his feet and crouched in preparation to jump into flight, not hesitating for a second, the robotic teen knew that his little buddy was ready. He nodded and rushed with Robin to the waiting car while the green shape shifter followed the girls through the air. When they burst through the doors of the museum they did so as a team of five, starling the Hive students.

            Jinx scowled as she spotted the lime tiger standing among the teen heroes, moving into a ready stance. “So, you guys decided to take your little pet out for a walk, huh? How nice.”

            Beast growled angrily, flexing out his large claws and allowing them to clink against the ground. His nostrils flared and his ears twitched as his senses raked the room for the other two members. He located the first one quickly, the small guy snickering as he punched in the last digits needed to hack into the security system and remove the artifacts’ protection. The larger one however was nowhere to be seen, and he was either upwind or too high for Beast to scent him. His whereabouts were a mystery until there was the faintest sound of movement from behind them.

            He whirled, spotting the Mammoth just as the large teen jumped from a ledge, directly over Raven. With a snarl Beast pounced, pushing Raven and himself out of the way as Mammoth lunged, creating dents in the floor as he missed his target. The muscular villain roared in anger and Jinx scowled worriedly. Now, instead of the usual three on tree match they would be outnumbered by two. However, she let little of her unease show as pink magic flashed in her hands and Gizmo appeared from the back of the museum. Mammoth grinned and stood, flexing his muscles and the teens attacked.

            Green, pink, and black meshed as the two female Titans faced Jinx, Gizmo and Cyborg circled one another, each attempting to beat the others tech. Robin and Beast were left to fight Mammoth, who whirled upon the green boy who had bested their team before. Turning into a small bird he darted away from the huge villain just as Robin jumped into the air and delivered a powerful kick to the back of Mammoth’s head. As the muscular teen whirled on him angrily Beast shifted into a cougar and scraped his claws in the back of the boy’s legs, unfortunately he could barely pierce the flesh of the thick-skinned teen and caused more annoyance than pain.

            As Mammoth turned away from Robin once more, obviously growing frustrated by the double teaming, Beast turned into a ram and charged, aiming his rock-hard horns at the large boy’s  stomach. However he went flying past as Mammoth side-stepped and crashed into Robin. The boy wonder growled, extracting himself from Beast’s – now human- limbs to lead an attack on his own. Beast stood, shaking his head and running to flank Gizmo with a growl. The small boy was nearly in perfect position to attack Cyborg, though the larger teen seemed not to notice. Spider legs retracted into the green backpack, instantly replaced with a hovercart as the Hive member lunged for the teen, software in hand.

            Beast lunged, a lime wolf, and knocked Gizmo right out of the sky, narrowly avoiding the blue ray that Cyborg had been aiming at his tiny opponent. “Opps, sorry B.” The Titan offered as Gizmo let loose with his personal brand of cursing from under Beast’s light emerald paws. Before Beast could answer there was a startled yell from above as Robin’s skill lost to Mammoth’s brute strength and the boy wonder went flying.

            Beast jumped to attention, whirling as the new threat bore down on him, jumping out of the way and nearly causing Mammoth to destroy his own teammate as the large teen’s shot fell short. Beast flew into a falcon, diving to the large enemy and shifting into a hippo as he prepared to flatten the threat. However, he met only empty air as a sonic Blast from Cyborg sent Mammoth flying out from under Beast’s feet. The green boy nearly whined in frustration. He didn’t know how to fight in a group like this, he’d only battled alone and the Titans had never practiced as a group. He had no clue what he was doing and he kept on getting in everyone else’s way and they got in his. He wasn’t trained for this. He’d been trained to be a weapon, not a Titan.

            Raven grunted as Jinx knocked her back under the replica of a spaceship from the science wing, and with a flash of a wrist pink coated the rocket and a snap resounded as the cables holding it broke. Without a thought Beast rushed to help the girl, transforming into an elephant and towering over the girl to shield her from the replica. Raven rose, sending Beast a grateful glance before joining the fight just as one of Starfire’s bolts struck Jinx and cast the girl towards them. Yet even as the large pachyderm Beast was no match for the heavy replica and collapsed under the weight.

            He changed into a gopher under the rubble, but by the time he emerged the Titans and Hive teens had shifted into their normal battle groups. It was as if they had forgotten he was there. A low grin slid upon his lips. It was exactly like they had forgotten he was there. Silently sliding out of the rubble he crouched as a small lemur into a hiding space and awaited the perfect moment to use the coveted element of surprise. After all, it wasn’t like he was doing much help out there.

            His moment came when a large portion of the roof gave out, weakened by sonic blasts, exploding bird-a-rangs, Starbolts, and finally broken completely by a well-timed blast of pink magic. The rubble covered the Titans, the Hive three standing over proudly though they knew that it was only a manner of seconds before Raven would use her powers to free them all and that there was no way that the villains would be able to stand up to the answering volley.

            Suddenly Gizmo stopped, looking over the Titans with a hint of worry on his face. “H-hey, aren’t we missing one of the crud-nuggets?”

            Jinx rolled her eyes. “Come on can’t you count you idiot? We got a-all… four… Hey you’re right. Where did your little guard dog go?”

            The Titan’s looked around, equally confused and feeling a hint of betrayal as they realized that he disappeared. Suddenly Robin noticed a streak of green rushing across the room, a Venezuelan jet black guinea pig rushing at the group at 53 mph, none of the villains noticed, still questioning the Titan’s on Beast’s whereabouts. Twenty feet from the group the guinea pig shifted to the form of a rhino, covering the distance in a second and bowling over the Hive students just as Raven shouted “Azarath Metrion Zinthos!” And the rubble was forced away from the Titans, flying in all directions as the Titans took up the battle.

            Their opponents, still dazed, didn’t stand a chance, in less than a minute the villainous teens were bound and waiting for the police. The police commissioner gave Beast a strange glance, shooting Robin a _look_ , before taking the criminals away. Robin sighed, citing that he had to talk to the man, and disappeared after the officer as Cyborg began to congratulate Beast on a job well done.     

            Robin found the commissioner waiting for him when he emerged from the room. The man nodded back towards the rest of the Titans. “So, you got this weapon to work pretty well for you.”

            “He’s not just a weapon anymore, he’s a Titan in training.”

            “Seems to me like he doesn’t need too much more training.”

            Robin thought for a moment before nodding. They had some stuff to work on, but he’d been trained as a warrior long before the Titans came. “No, not much at all.”

            The commissioner was quiet for a second, seeming deep in thought. “He seems different, a lot different, than from what he was like in those video you sent me.”

            Robin nodded again. “He is. The kid is strong, he had a whole personality hidden deep within his mind. It took a while, and a lot of work, but we’re finally drawing it out.”

            The officer hummed uncertainly. “He’s a Titan now? Then why does he still have that thing around his neck. I’ve seen those videos. I don’t like that collar.”

            “It’s not staying for much longer.” Robin turned, his cape splaying back behind him as he left the man. Beast was grinning broadly and chatting animatedly with Cyborg and Starfire, Raven standing nearby and listening disinterestedly.

            “Come on guys, let’s get back to the tower. I want to talk with you when we get there. All of you.” He added, eyes locked onto Beasts, knowing that the boy would assume himself excluded from the group.  

            Beast nodded, though his ears drooped slightly when the leader turned away. This couldn’t be good. He just hoped he’d done a good enough job fighting, that he hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d enoyed battling alongside his Masters. His good mood deflated as he made his way back to the car. He smiled when Cyborg tried to coax him into conversation, happy with the attention and unwilling to bring down the older boy’s good mood.

As Robin began to follow he jumped slightly as Raven slid up behind him. The girl’s eyes bored into him. “He’s a Titan.” She insisted, her voice leaving no room for argument. Not that there would be any if the way Cyborg and Starfire were doting on Beast was anything to go by. Robin nodded.

“I know.”

It wasn’t long before they reached the tower, Beast settling among the other Titans on the couch in front of the computer as Robin stood to address them. The green boy bounced with nervousness but, as Robin noted happily, none of the fear that used to be so prevalent. Robin locked eyes with the worried boy and pulled out a yellow communicator. “How would you like to be a Titan?”

Beast froze, his eyes wide and locked on the yellow device in the colorful teen’s hand. He gulped and offered the most articulate response he could manage. “Huh?”

Small grins began to steal across the faces of Starfire and Cyborg as they realized what was going on. Even Raven, who had been expecting it, couldn’t stop a half-style from stealing across her face. Robin paid them no mind as he continued. “We’d like to offer you the position of Titans. No more Masters and Beasts. Just Titans fighting side by side. The collar is coming off tomorrow and we’d like you to stay when it does.”

“M-me? A Titan? No more Masters, no matter what?”

“No more Masters, no matter what.”

Beast glanced around at the Titans, his heart beating loudly in his chest. They were offering him the chance to fight alongside them, but not as a pet or weapon or guard dog, as a teammate. An equal. He wouldn’t have to be Beast anymore, an object that could be sold or stolen at the drop of a hat. He wouldn’t have to worry about the Titans looking at him and seeing only dollar signs. He could be their friend, not their pet. He could be human again, brought back to Before Beast.

Slowly, as though expecting it to be a cruel trick, Beast took the communicator into his grasp and clutched it tightly against his chest. Starfire let out a happy whoop, flying up in the air with joy as Cyborg cried out in excitement and offered a metal hand for a high five, which Beast returned numbly. A hint of a smile played around Raven’s lips. “I guess this means we should celebrate… or something.” She monotoned.

Cyborg let out another happy cry before babbling something about a breakfast extravaganza with extra waffles, but Robin interrupted him before any true plans could form. “Not yet. We have a lot to do first.”

“Like what?”

“Like he can’t keep fighting in whatever outfit he finds in his closet?” Raven intoned as she caught on to the problem, eyeing the rips and tears along his jeans and T-shirt.

“Right. Like that. I know someone who can hook him up with a uniform so that isn’t much of a problem. She doesn’t like capes, but a cape wouldn’t really suit B anyway. We can send over pictures and his preferred color scheme later tonight. Not that it would really matter, crazy old Edna’ll do whatever color she feels like no matter what we say.” He mumbled the last bit, irritation hinting across his face. “I was thinking more about a name.”

“Name?” Beast asked, finally digging his way out of his shock.

“Most of us don’t really go by our real names. Cyborg and I both had completely different identities before and even Starfire’s name is just a translation. If you wanted to change your name, get rid of any ties to your time as Beast completely, now would be the time to do it.”

“I could change my name? To anything I wanted.”

“Sure, there are a lot of good names you could choose from.” Cyborg said, his voice taking on a teasing tone as he continued. There’s Green Bean, Grass Stain, Broccoli Boy…”      

“Rougnatoff!” Starfire cut in brightly.The Titans cast her a strange look before Robin began offering a few.

“What about Animal lad? The Shifter?”                                          

Even Raven had a suggestion. “Changeling?”

“Beast Boy.” The green boy said, a note of finality in his tone. The Titans watched him dubiously.

“Are you sure?” Robin questioned and Cyborg nodded.

“This is your chance to put everything behind you, do you really want to keep the Beast?” 

The shape shifter nodded, his words coming out slow as he worked through his thoughts. “I am Beast, I have been for years and I can’t ignore it. If I try, it’ll eventually just make everything worse. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. If I’d never been Beast I wouldn’t be as useful to you guys, as prepared to be a Titan. I probably wouldn’t even be in Jump if I’d never been Beast. But… but it wasn’t a good thing either. This way though, as Beast Boy, even if I know that I am Beast I’m also reminded that I’m human.”

The room was silent for a moment. Each Titan eyed the boy, surprised as his unusually serious answer. Finally Cyborg spoke. “Beast Boy. I like it, has a nice ring to it. Of course it could never be as nice as Cyborg but…”

Beast Boy suddenly grinned. “Whatever you say, tin can.”

“Glorious, Friend Beast Boy is now a Titan! May we now commence with the joyous celebration?”

Robin smiled. “Sure, why not?”

* * *

 

Slade snarled as the pink haired girl delivered her news, dismissing her with a wave of his hand as he stalked up to a large monitor. It had taken him much longer than he’d thought to find the collar-maker. The man, an arms and merchandise dealer, had been on the run from some villains he had made a bad deal with and seemed to be well practiced in the art of hiding. Slade had searched for weeks, but one could never hide from someone such as him forever. In the end he had found the man, right under his nose and staying with Doctor Chang, but it had taken too long. Much too long. Now the boy- his weapon, his prize- was already fighting with the Titans. If he didn’t act soon it would be too late.

The problem was it wasn’t enough to simply have the boy; Slade needed to get the remote as well if he wanted to get complete control of the child. The only problem was discovering where it was. It had to be in the tower somewhere, but he wasn’t sure where. He would have to figure it out soon though. If the boy was already fighting with them then the collar wouldn’t be on much longer.

He smiled grimly beneath his mask. Then again, if it’s maker was to be trusted (which he probably wasn’t. Slade trusted no one.) then the Titans would find it much harder to remove than they would have intended. Still, the man thought as he idly eyed his computer with a sickening grin creeping up his hidden face, it couldn’t hurt to keep them… occupied. He could see if his investment was really worth it. The man leaned forward eagerly and began to plot, his favorite activity.

* * *

 

Beast Boy shifted slightly on the table, eyeing Cyborg as the large teen continued to draw out tool after sharp tool. He gulped nervously. “I’m not sure I want you with those near my neck.” He wheezed, though the laugh at the end showed that he wasn’t truly worried. How could he be? This was his best friend, Cyborg wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him, right? Then again, amended the newest Titan as said Beast friend pulled out a large saw, he wasn’t exactly a scholar concerning what friends did or didn’t do.

“Come on BB, do you really think I’d let any of this stuff get ya?”

“Depends, how much meat do we have in the fridge?”

Cyborg laughed at his response, turning onto his friend with an evil, teasing smile. “You know, now that I think about it we are getting kinda low. Hmm.” He inspected a hack saw speculatively and Beast Boy shuddered.

“That’s it, I refuse to turn into a pig, no green ham for you.”

Cyborg opened his mouth to speak but Beast cut him off. “I’m not turning into a cow either. You want beef go to Wendy’s.”

“Awe man, you know how to take the fun out of everything.” Cyborg cuckled as he laid out some paperweights to hold down some of the collar schematics he’d found in the files. “Now lay down, the sooner we can get this done the better.”

Beast nodded, laying on the table and closing his eyes as Cyborg advanced with a screwdriver and began messing with a panel directly under his chin. They had partied well into the night before, but true to his word Robin made sure that Cyborg took Beast Boy down into the Titan’s lab first thing the next morning to remove the collar. Now Beast wasn’t sure if he was excited or terrified, probably a little of both. His breath caught in his throat as Cyborg lifted the panel off of the metal collar, craning his neck in a fruitless attempt to see the wires.

The metal Titan gently pushed him back onto the table. “Try not to move,” he mumbled as he began to remove another panel. Beast Boy nodded, laying back and closing his eyes again. Cyborg scowled at the blueprints in front of him. They weren’t the originals, that was obvious. Apparently the collar’s creator hadn’t seen it fit to put them in himself, so any information the files had was secondhand observations made by other owners curious about what was keeping their Beast from escaping. None of them cared about taking the collar off though, so there was no information on freeing the boy.

Cyborg continued dismantling the collar until the entirety on the metal cover was removed, leaving the crisscrossing wires bare. He began to follow the wires, looking for their origin and ending points, taking notice to see when they met. Every once in a while he would have Beast Boy turn, shifting the child’s head or craning his neck.

Finally he thought he understood enough about the collar to begin. He first moved to the small sensor that picked up the transmissions of the remote. Folding his pair of wire cutters over the metal, he closed the blades over the resilient-looking bit of wire. The moment the blade made contact with the sensor Beast Boy let out an unearthly howel, writhing on the table as electricity shot through the metal around his neck.

Cyborg immediately dropped the wire cutters, long before his mind was able processes what exactly was going on. As the pressure on the wires ceased as did the pain, and Beast Boy’s screams slowed to heaving gasps. The green child slowly rose his eyes to meet Cyborg’s, hurt, confusion, betrayal, and that ever cursed fear shining in his eyes. Cyborg met his gaze with eyes just as confused and fearful, and twice as horrified. Beast Boy began to calm as he saw the horror in his larger friend’s gaze, realizing that it had been an accident.

“What was that?” The green boy asked, his voice coming out hoarse and gritty. Cyborg frowned, happy that his metallic hands wouldn’t shake like human ones as he examined the slightly bent wire. He gulped lightly, seeing that what he once thought was a single cord was actually a thin bunch of silver strands, a secret trip wire made to activate the collar when disturbed.

“Uh oh.” Cyborg breathed, examining the rest of the collar’s wiring with a sinking feeling in his gut. In the plastic were dozens of minuscule silver strands.

“What uh-oh? Cy?” Beast Boy asked, his panic rising as he attempted to rise, only to fall back as the large teen pushed him back onto the table.

“Wait here, I gotta go get Robin!”

“What? Why? Cyborg!”

But the robotic Titan was gone. Beast gulped slightly, rising a hand to the collar and yelping when electricity shot through him as he brushed against the ruined sensor. The green boy gulped. This couldn’t be good. He cursed his master of long ago, growling low in his throat. Whatever they had done to keep Beast from escaping, whatever was protecting the collar from it’s prisoner, it was keeping even the Titans from freeing him.

Cyborg came back a second later, Robin hot on his heels. The two poured over the collar, opening the remote to find a similar set up. They bustled around the lab, never actually touching anything as they mumbled about circuits and conductivity and a bunch of other babble the newest Titan didn’t understand. He understood one thing though; he wasn’t getting his collar off anytime soon.

The Titans weren’t one to give up however, and gave it everything they got. Robin suggested stuffing rubber in between the collar and Beast Boy’s neck, but the metal was already nearly digging into his skin, no rubber could ever fit. They even considered making him fly, keeping him from being grounded, but it had always worked when he was flying before and the green boy could see no reason to believe that it would change. Finally Cyborg fell back with a sigh, picking up the discarded panel pieces. 

“Sorry B, looks like this thing isn’t coming off tonight.”

“We’ll work on it though.” Robin promised. “I’m sure I can find somebody who can figure out what to do.”

Beast Boy nodded. “Just make sure they can do it without turning me into green popcorn.”

Cyborg grinned, fitting on the last metal slip. “We’ll try.” He slid the last screw into place, allowing Beast to straighten in his seat. He sighed and looked at the remote grudgingly. “Even if we can’t get the stupid thing off, you’re still a Titan. Here, you keep this.”

He held the remote out to the green boy, only to frown as Beast Boy jumped back as the device neared him. The green boy gulped and scooted up the table. “U-um that’s okay. You can keep it.”

Both Robin and Cyborg frowned. “Are you sure?” Robin asked as Cyborg hesitated.

Beast Boy nodded vigorously. “Oh yeah, I’m sure.”

With an uneasy glance Cyborg stowed the remote in a compartment along his arm, an opening created by the constant downsizing of technology.    

Just as the compartment’s cover was slid into place alarms raked the hall, and Beast Boy found himself rushing with the rest of the Titans into town, preparing to face a cement enemy as large as a sky scraper.

* * *

 

Slade slipped into the Titans tower, the security not what it could be since the Titans had left in such a hurry. Not that it could have kept him out regardless. The man slipped through the heroes home, heading for the Titans’ own personal evidence room first, searching through the various weapons and newspaper clippings in hopes of finding the small metal remote, but it was not there.

The man continued to ghost through the building, searching various rooms until he finally made it to the lab. His eyes alighted upon the cleared table, one just long enough for a small boy to lay across. Examining the room further he saw the scattered tools and blueprints, but no remote. He scowled, they had already tried to remove the collar. The scowl lessoned. He knew Robin, if he had managed to get the collar off then it would be sitting on a pedestal in the evidence room, a testament to the green child’s change from slave to Titan. If it wasn’t there then it was surely still around the boy’s neck.

He still had time, he just had to find the collar. Unfortunately, Cinderblock wouldn’t keep them busy for long. He would have to save this for another day. He had other things to do today.

* * *

 

Beast massaged his nose slightly as he sat with the rest of the Titans around the center of the table at the pizza parlor. His first fight as a Titan had been amazing, exhilarating, and incredible. At least until the giant cement dude had stepped on his elephant trunk. Oh well, Cinderblock had tripped on the trunk and working together the Titans had been able to restrain him. Now the team was relaxing over a pie at the local pizza parlor.

The green boy knew that he still wasn’t the best at fighting in a group, but he’d done better than the night before. Beast Boy looked around, eyeing the other patrons of the restaurant. The groups were all whispering and shooting glances at the group, especially him. The green boy shifted nervously in his seat. He didn’t mind being the center of attention, but he hated it when people stared. It remindedhim how different he was, how beastly. The people had stared at him a lot during his first few escapades into town, but they had become used to his presence after a while. However, it seemed that becoming a Titan gave the people of Jump a new excuse to eye the oddly colored boy.

Beast Boy tried to ignore the watching people, purposely chatting with Cyborg and never letting his attention stray from their table. Because of this when a child timidly approached the group the green Titan didn’t notice until a small hand tapped his shoulder. Beast Boy stiffened at the touch, still not wholly comfortable with human contact, and turned to recognize a young kid whom he had saved from being stepped on in the earlier battle. The boy had light hair and an excited light in his shy eyes; he was wearing a T-shirt with rough illustrations of the four original Titans sitting around the table and a pair of tennis shoes with a copy of Robin’s symbol blazed on the sides.

“Um, hi.” Beast Boy offered, looking to the Titans for support. He hadn’t talked to a normal person, much less a kid, in years. The child, blunt and honest as they come, didn’t bother offering a greeting.

“Who are you? I know all of the Titans, but I’ve never seen you before.”

“Uh…” The newest Titan stammered, glancing around uneasily. A woman who looked like the kid’s mother was eyeing them nervously, her gaze constantly shifting between her son, Beast Boy, and the Titans as though begging the teen heroes to protect her child from the green unknown entity. “Um, I’m Beast Boy. I’m the newest Titan, I guess.”

The child eyed Beast Boy for a moment before turning his gaze on his heroes, as though expecting them to tell him that the shape shifter was lying. When no reveal was forthcoming he studied Beast Boy once more before grinning broadly. “Cool! I met the newest Titan first! That is so cool! Bye Mr. Beast Boy, thanks for saving me!” With another grin and a wave the boy ran back to his mother, chattering happily as she led him from the restaurant. As if ‘Titan’ was some sort of code word the previously worried woman sent Beast Boy a small smile as she walked away.

Though the event seemed insignificant at the time, by the time the Titans got to their tower and  Turned on their TV it was all over the news, Beast Boy: The Newest Titan.


	17. Crating Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only about three or four chapters left. This is where it starts getting good people!!!

Slade slipped into the warehouse, smiling grimly to himself. He’d yet to find the remote, despite searching the entirety of the tower. That could only mean one thing: it was on one of the Titans. Robin was the obvious choice of course. It wouldn’t be one of the girls, neither of them had much room to hide anything on their uniform. Beast wouldn’t want to hold it himself. No matter what he was like now the boy was completely terrified of the remote.

 In each of the videos if the controller was ever set on a table the boy would avoid it like the plague. While the pet wouldn’t shy from a fist, a bat, or even a whip, just a hint of the small device sent him cowering. It had power over him unlike anything else, he feared it probably more than death. Slade knew that one of the reasons- perhaps the main reason- that the Titan’s attempt at rehabilitation had gone so successfully was that the boy had gone for months without sight of the controller. The boy would never willingly keep it close, even if it meant keeping anyone from using it against him.

That left Cyborg and Robin. Out of the two it was most likely that Robin had the remote, tucked away in one of the many pockets of his utility belt. Slade grinned as he made his way farther into the cluttered building. He’d always wanted to pick-pocket one of those.

Closing his eyes for a moment the man regained attention on the matter at hand. He was deep in the bowels of a warehouse on the outskirts of Jump City, one the police used to store old evidence. He crept along the halls, making his way deep into the back where much of the larger pieces lay. The man’s smile widened as his eyes alighted on the last piece of his puzzle. In the corner, half hidden under a cloak, sat a cramped metal cage.

* * *

 

 Beast flopped onto the couch with a groan. He could’ve sworn that the Titans hadn’t been so busy back when he was stuck at the house. Now the alarm was raised at least once a day, if not more. He felt like he hadn’t been at the tower in ages, and he knew for a fact that Cyborg and Robin had been much too busy to make any headway in removing the collar. Oh well, he’d had plenty of hands on practice in fighting as a group, and though he knew that he hadn’t gotten a full grasp of the whole teamwork thing yet, his lone wolf fighting style was slowly morphing into the mindset of a pack.

He heard a sigh and opened his eyes just in time to see Cyborg collapse on the other half of the couch. The large metallic teen groaned. Beast Boy smiled at his friend, rolling over onto his stomach to meet the larger teen’s eyes. “I’m so tired.” The green boy groaned. Not as tired as he had been as Beast of course, but that was the past.

Cyborg moaned and nodded in agreement. “Worst part is Robin is in one of his ‘moods’ again. He’s convinced Slade is behind all this, wants us busy.”

“Who?”

“This psychopathic masked villain who is almost as obsessed with Robin as Robin is obsessed with him. Trust me; you’ll know him when you see him.”

 “So is he behind it?”

“I dunno. Robin seems to think so though, so don’t be surprised if he acts completely crazy for the next few days.” 

Beast Boy nodded but his response was interrupted by his growling stomach. The boy jumped up, yawning as he made the way to the kitchen to grab some dinner.

            “Get me a ham sandwich while you’re up, grass stain.” Cyborg called from the couch. 

            “Make your own murder. I’m having a salad.”

            “C’mon B!” Cyborg groaned, but the green boy just chuckled and the robotic Titan was forced to rise to make his own meal. Beast Boy smiled at his friend and pulled his gloves on a little tighter as he began to prepare his meal. The new uniform had come in only two days after Robin had sent the boy’s pictures and measurements to the mysterious Edna.

To the green child’s excitement she had stayed within his preferred color choices, making an amazing form-fitting uniform of dual colors, black and purple. Beast Boy had added his belt and gloves, but otherwise loved the outfit. It turned out later that the uniform had been meant for the doom patrol- the packages had gotten mixed up- but by then the uniform had seemed as much a part of Beast Boy as his green skin or his name and the boy had refused to send it back, a sentiment shared by his fellow Titans. Now the boy was working to avoid dripping dressing on his well-loved purple shirt as he devoured his meal. 

             The pair was just finishing their respective meals when the alarm rang once again to five collective groans. Without further complaint the teens were off again to the scene of the crime. They rushed near the outskirts of town, hurrying to a warehouse sector in the T-car. The heroes’ vehicle had to swerve out of the way of a huge van barreling down the streets. Cyborg cursed, he had just craned the wheel to follow when a Slade-bot landed on the top of the car with a thump, prompting the Titans to rush from the car to fight.  

            As they streamed from the car they were immediately set upon by dozens of robots, followed by Slade himself. Robin didn’t even have the time to shout out his usual rallying cry before the Titans threw themselves into the fight. Black-coated rubble flew through the air and knocked into enemies, while blue and green rays blasted through synthetic bodies. Robin ignored the swarming machines, focusing only on the person of Slade.

            Beast shuddered for a moment, watching the two seasoned fighters battle. Cyborg was right, he did recognize Slade, despite having never seen him before. This man oozed power, strength, skill, and… uh, creepiness. The two-toned mask glinted cruelly in the light and Beast froze as the single eye met his with a stunningly unnerving intensity.

            The boy had less than an instant to process this however, for within a second he was set upon by Slade-bots and all rational thought left him as he surged headlong into battle. The robots were durable and fought better than some villains, but slowly their numbers diminished. Beast Boy was a whirlwind, sinking razor sharp claws into metal and ripping robotic limbs off with bulging animal muscles. He flew, burrowed, charged and gorged as powerful blasts of magic, power, and energy clashed around.  Finally the number of enemies diminished to such a degree that Beast was free from opponents and was able rush to Robin to aid him in his fight.

            The first attack had the gift of surprise. Beast slunk up behind Slade and slashed a large claw across his back just as the villain landed a blow against Robin, batting the boy wonder away with the air of a child who had found what they thought to be an excited toy, only to be horribly disappointed. Slade cried out in anger and pain as the claw slashed through to his skin. Whirling around his eyes seemed to light up in malicious glee as he spotted the green boy.

            “Well, if it isn’t the Titans’ newest little weapon.” The man purred, contempt leaking through his voice.

            Beast Boy shifted to his human form. “I’m not their weapon. I’m a Titan.” His last word was distorted with a snarl as he shifted into a large feline form, leaping up and lunging for the villain. With blinding speed the man dodged, not only avoiding the boy but gripping onto the metal collar slung around his neck. With a growl Beast Boy attempted to squirm away, but the grip on his collar was ironclad. He shifted, but the grip did not release as it held tight to the strip of metal, instead only accounting for the change in size. He changed forms again… and again… and again… but each had the same result. He couldn’t escape the hand on his collar.

 He turned into a constrictor, attempted to wrap his coiled muscular body around his opponents arm but the man’s other hand simply grasped his tail and he was unable to move. A viper was next, but he had neither leverage nor adequate room to move his head. Finally he was a mammal again, a wolf, doing whatever he could to sink fangs into the man, but with a hand to his neck and tail the boy was trapped. Slade brought his mask down to the canine’s ear and whispered, low and deadly.

“I don’t care what the Titans told you. It’s only a matter of time before you’re a weapon once more. And this time, you will be mine.”

With a stroke of fear instinct reigned and the changeling shifted once more, becoming an elephant and pulling Slade off with a pull of his mighty trunk. The entire exchange lasted less than a minute and Robin was already upon the masked man the instant Beast Boy threw him off. Once again the masked teen fought in an obsessed frenzy, and once again he was eventually pushed away. Only this time the man did not wait for the Titans to retaliate, he ran, disappearing into the night. It wasn’t until then that the Titans realized they had let the truck get away.

Robin cursed, commanding the Titans to search the nearby warehouses, see if anything was blatantly missing. Beast Boy ran into the nearest one, trying to get the threat out of his mind. Slade had to be lying, right? That was what bad guys did. He wasn’t Beast anymore, he was a Titan. There was no way Slade could get him, right? There was no need to worry Robin, especially with how obsessive and frantic he seemed. Really if Slade had no way to carry out his threat it would be pointless to worry the Titan leader, right? Right.

Shaking his head and getting to the task at hand Beast began to survey the warehouse, taking in the loaded boxes and objects and searching for any gaps. Suddenly a familiar scent hit the boy’s nose. A scent he’d recognized since he was eight years old. His cage. The boy ran down the corridors, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he followed the scent. The boy stopped dead when the trail ended and he was left to stare in horror at a gaping hole.

* * *

 

Slade scowled to himself as he hit a few choice buttons on his computer, the look only lessoning when the video feed slid onto screen. He’d managed to slip a camera onto the boy’s collar during the fight and was now privy to a constant stream of Titan TV. The man growled slightly, remembering how a simple grip over the piece of metal had kept the boy out of the fight. A simple magnet would render him useless. Of course, if the Titans had actually been willing to use the remote his grip on the collar would have been rendered useless as he was electrocuted along with the boy, and it was likely that the collar wasn’t magnetic.

The man scowled. He’d systematically picked every one of Robin’s belt pockets during the fight and found nothing other than some weapons, a rock of kryptonite – which he was keeping, thank you very much, you never knew when that could be useful-, sleeping pellets, and a very interesting picture of Starfire. However, the controller was infuriatingly absent. In that case the remote could only be in the position of Cyborg, and in that case short of tearing the teen apart piece by piece Slade had no way of knowing where the remote was.

Slade’s thoughts turned to the man who had created the collar, currently locked as a prisoner in the bowels of his lair for insubordination and constant attempts of escape. The masked villain considered for a moment discussing with his… guest the possibility of creating a second remote but knew that it was unlikely that he could create it without the collar itself and it would be a hassle to get the boy without control over him. Not impossible of course, but more trouble than was worth it at the moment.

Slade straightened in his seat as the picture changed. His soon-to-be-pet had gone with Cyborg into the lab alone. The large cybernetic teen lifted off one of the panels of his arm and drew out the remote Slade so desired. There was no sound so Slade knew not what happened in the scene, could only watch as Beast and Cyborg moved around the room, discussing who knows what. However, his grin magnified as the two left, leaving the controller alone and vulnerable.

* * *

 

Beast Boy wasn’t exactly sure why he reported to Robin that nothing had been taken from the warehouse. The best excuse he could come up with was that Robin was freaking him out. Obsessed was an understatement, he was completely insane when dealing with Slade, and much of the green boy’s inherent paranoia had yet to disappear. Also, he was terrified, but completely loath to say it, each of his animal instincts calling against admitting to his weakness. In the end he was able to convince himself that as long as Slade didn’t have the remote, he had nothing to fear.

That didn’t stop him from getting Cyborg to come with him into the lab the instant they got to the tower. The cybernetic teen watched his friend worriedly. The usually boisterous boy had been completely silent on the car ride home, and had jumped at nearly every shadow he’d passed.

“Okay Green Bean, what’s this all about, why are you so freaked? Was it Slade? I tried to warn you he was crazy.”

“N-no it’s not that.” Yes it was. “I-I just wanted to make sure that you still had my remote.”

Cyborg looked at him strangely but removed the remote from its compartment. His worry increased at the look of pure relief that crossed the boy’s face, like a prisoner suddenly freed from death row. “Sure I still got it. Did you change your mind about holding onto it yourself?” He offered the boy the device, but Beast Boy jumped back and laughed nervously.

“N-nah. I was just thinking though, wouldn’t it be better to leave it here, with all the security and stuff? I mean, who knows what could happen in a fight? What if Sl- someone gets a hold of it?”

Cyborg watched the shape shifter steadily, searching the boy’s eyes for an answer for the strange behavior but shrugging reluctantly when he found none. “If that’s what you want. You get to decide what to do with it. Is it okay in here?”

After a slight hesitation the green boy nodded. “As good as anywhere else. I mean, I won’t have it forever, right?”

Cyborg nodded but studied him for a moment. “You sure fighting Slade earlier didn’t shake you up or anything? You don’t seem right.”

“I’m sure. I’m fine. Fine. C’mon. Let’s go get some sleep before the stupid alarm rings again.”

Cyborg cast the boy one last glance before heading out the door. Beast Boy looked at the remote for a long while, finally picking it up gingerly and hiding it in a pile of wires before following his own advice and heading to his bunk bed for a nightmare-riddled dream.

* * *

 

   Slade, slipping as silently as a shadow secretly sulked, searching stealthily. How foolish the boy was, believing the controller was safe so long as it was held in the Tower. Slade had long since learned how to bypass the security long before the boy had been brought to Jump. If only the green child knew how many times the masked man had already made his way into the tower to search for the remote.

He eased his way into the lab, chuckling as he sighted his goal in the child’s makeshift hiding place. He held the small device, knowing that it was not a simple remote, but complete control over a strong and obedient Beast who knew the strengths and weaknesses of the Titans. Gripping the cool device in his hands the man slid his way up to the most recently made bedroom, the messy one he had noticed among his first few escapades searching for the remote.

The man grinned beneath his mask as he entered the room, seeing a green figure sprawled across the bed, murmuring and whimpering uncomfortably. He leaned down near the bed, whispering very lowly next to the boy’s - no, the beast’s- sensitive ear. “Wake up. Be silent.”

Beast Boy’s eyes shot open, looking up with terror at the evil eyes, cruel mask, and horrific remote pointed squarely at his neck. The shape shifter whimpered, cringing back along the bed. Slade growled, his voice never rising from its near silent timbre. “I commanded you to be silent. You will pay for that.”

Beast Boy could only stare in silent horror as he felt his freedom slipping from his grasp, he was in the hands of a Master once more. The boy’s limbs began to tremble as Beast Boy faded away, memories of harsh beatings, absolute commands, horrible crimes, and vicious Masters assaulted his mind and turned him into Beast once more. Slade nodded at the boy’s silence. “Follow me. Don’t look back. Don’t you dare make a single sound.”

As the man stood and Beast shakily rose to his feet as well, the boy pondered for a moment screaming for help. Yes, Slade would likely use the remote but then he would scream, alerting the Titans of the danger even more. But then Slade pushed the remote so that it sat against his neck and all thought left the boy as the villain pressed his face close to the shape shifter’s neck. “Don’t think about trying anything, _creature_.” He spat and Beast nodded numbly, following obediently as Slade led him through the silent tower and onto the mainland of Jump, where a familiar large van sat.

Beast shuddered, remembering the van that had nearly collided with the T-car earlier that day, the van fleeing the scene with Slade. He wished he wasn’t seeing it again so soon. He stood beside the masked villain, still completely silent, as the man opened the doors to the back of the vehicle, revealing the cramp metal cage that sat within. Beast shrank back from the sight but, heedful of the earlier warning, remained silent. Slade jumped onto the back of the car and Beast followed, stopping only when the villain had reached the cage.

The orange and black clothed man opened the door with a creak, beckoning with a jerk of his head for Beast to crawl in. The green boy obeyed, his heart breaking as the metal closed him in. The boy could barely move, the prison more cramped than he could remember. Slade relished closing the door on the boy, loved the hopelessness and fear crossing the child’s features. Slade turned to leave, stopping just as he reached the door and turning back towards the shape shifter. “Oh yes, I believe punishment is in order.”

Slowly and deliberately the man laid the controller onto the ground, button touching the floor. In plain view of the boy he grasped a toolbox he kept in the van and dropped it on top of the remote. Beast screamed as the weight pushed down the button, sending hundreds of volts of electricity into his body as he convulsed on the floor. With a satisfied hum the man watched the pained child suffer for a moment before closing the van’s back door and making his way to the driver’s seat, Beast’s agonized cries music to his ears as the man made his way through Jump to his lair.

* * *

 

 

Beast gasped great heaving breaths, the torture finally over. Slade stood bending over his cage, disdain somehow conveyed through his mask. “Mark my words, Freak, I don’t take well to disobedience. And that was just for a first offence. I can promise you that any further misdemeanors will be handled much more severely.”

Beast whimpered as the door to his cage was opened and Slade snarled in response, dragging the boy out forcefully and tossing him into the wall of the van before moving to loom over him. “You will not show weakness. Do you understand me?”

“Yes Master.” The boy wheezed through his raw throat.

Slade growled and whirled. “Follow!” He ordered, leaving the boy to scramble to his feet after him. Slade glanced down at his new slave.

“You would have been here months ago had the Titans not interfered.” The boy looked up incredulously as the masked man continued. “You didn’t really think you were in Jump by chance did you? And you were advertised as being so much more intelligent. How fortunate that I didn’t pay that imbecile his asking price if this was truly all that was being offered.”

“You were the buyer?” Beast blurted out, and Slade whirled on him lashing out with a fist and sending the boy to the floor across the hall. Stalking to the child he caught him in the ribs with a kick, another landing on his face. Another blow hit its mark, and another, and another until the pet was curled up in a pained fetal position, shaking as the blows continued. Finally the kicks stopped, but no relief was found for with a press of a button the boy was in the throes of electricity once again. Finally the punishment ended, and Beast found himself frozen to the ground, his breath heaving and fists clenched in pain. It was so much worse than he had remembered. Months of joy had destroyed his threshold for pain. Slade leaned down menacingly in the terrified boy.

“You do not speak unless told, understand?”

“Y-y-yes Master.” Beast groaned.

“Get up.” Slade commanded and Beast rose shakily to his feet and followed the man once more, this time keeping his head down and his lips sealed. Slade, Master, led the shape shifter deep to the bottom of the lair, leading him past a locked door and into a cell where a terrifyingly familiar man sat. Beast froze, not recognizing the face but being sure of the man’s scent, as he saw the man who had created the collar that held him captive and stymied the Titans.

The man looked up to glare at Slade, his look turning to one of interest as he spotted the green pet. “So you finally got him.”

Slade didn’t respond, shoving the terrified boy forward. Beast stumbled for half a step before regaining his footing, standing straight and bowing his head respectfully- as he was trained to do- while the man rose from his position seated beside a large table and began to circle the green boy.   “Well well, you’ve certainly grown up.”

Beast bit his tongue to keep from replying as the man continued to circle him, occasionally poking or prodding him like some kind of animal for show… which he was. The man hummed appreciatively, an investor overlooking his interests. “He’s much more powerful than he was when I still had him. Granted, he was only nine when I sold him. His price has likely tripled since then.”

“More.” Slade interjected, seeming impatient. “Now, can you make the improvements we talked about?”

Reluctantly the scientist turned his eyes from the boy, he had been observing the viciously sharp fang, and looked more intently at the collar. “Of course I can. It’s already non-magnetic, the mike and bug will take seconds to install at the most, and the camera won’t take much longer. The GPS might take a bit, but everything on the collar’s end won’t be much of a problem. Mounting the remote and GPS into your armor will take the longest. Are you sure you want to do that? You’ll be pretty much foregoing any chance at selling him after that.”

“Oh I don’t intend to sell this monster. I intend to work him into the ground.  I will be his only Master and he will know that.”

Beast gulped, his Adam’s apple grating painfully against the collar, but he didn’t dare say anything. The inventor hummed distractedly. “I’ll have to remove the collar to make the adjustments of course. You might want to make sure you have control over him. I don’t think he’ll be as easy to contain as he had been as a child.”

“I can assure you I have thought of that.” The masked man pulled out a syringe and approached his green pet. Beast wanted to cringe, wanted to run and avoid the sharp pang that would bring such horrendous memories to his mind- a jungle forest, a monkey’s fangs, his parents screams, a cure that turned him into a monster-, but knew that he couldn’t. He wasn’t a free Titan anymore, just Beast. The child did nothing as the sharp needle entered his skin, the plunger pressing down and drug entering the boy’s exotic bloodstream. Beast didn’t fight it as he felt unconsciousness overwhelm him and within seconds he was dead to the world.

The man lugged the boy’s dead weight over to the table, laying him down as Slade brought in an array of tools the man had cited needing. The masked man watched in interest as the inventor and arms dealer pried the metal plating off of the collar. “Tell me, what is the secret to getting past all of the… precautions you set in place?”

The man chuckled darkly. “It is extremely clever. The freak could never do it, nor could any well intending do-gooder who wanted to set the boy free.” He picked up large wire cutters. “It takes a Master’s touch. You see, Beast and the heroes will stop the instant it’s obvious that he’s in excruciating pain.” He nestled the blades of the clippers over a silver and plastic colored wire. “Whereas I don’t care.”

As the blades closed over the wire there was a zap of electricity followed almost immediately by Beast’s unconscious but tortured screams.


	18. Back to Beast

The man worked efficiently with surgical effectiveness, yet even so by the time he left the room was effused with the scent of burning flesh. The green boy’s neck was festering with blisters and burns, though many of these may have been garnered by Slade’s punishments rather than the collar’s extraction. The boy had woken several times as the collar was being removed- roused by the pain- and was promptly put back under. The last thing either of the two villains wanted was for Slade’s new pet to be awake without the pain that controlled it. Slade had dosed the boy heavily as the last wire was cut, ensuring that the boy would sleep through the modifications.

            Slade watched with a discerning eye as the modifications were being made, prompting the nervous man to work even faster than normal. In the end it was only a few hours before the enhancements to the collar were done, and the man was working on embedding a new remote onto a panel of armor. Once the last bit of that was done Slade wasted no time in testing it out. It only took a single zap of electricity to arise the nearly waking boy.

            Beast’s hands shot to the collar, feeling the new, heavier apparition with growing dread and wincing slightly as it brushed his raw neck. Slade turned and began to make his way out from the room. “Follow.” He commanded and Beast hastily stood, swaying slightly as he overcame dizziness from the many drugs pumped into his system. With a shake of his head Beast followed his Master, not stopping even as his old owner beseeched the masked man.

            “I thought I could leave once I fixed the collar. The job is done, let me go.”

            Slade didn’t even pause. “Not when it was so troublesome to locate you the first time. What if one of your enhancements backfires and you’re nowhere to be found. No. I believe you’ll be staying here for a while.”

            The man let out a barrage of curses but Slade ignored them, calling for Beast to shut the door behind them. The pet obeyed, though the metal door did nothing to block the angry yelling from his sensitive ears. The boy could barely hold back a shudder. He hated the sounds of an angry Master, even if it was a past one.

            Remembering his lifelong training the boy kept his head down as he followed his Master, marveling at the gears from the corners of his eyes. Slade led him to a large room, the most prominent feature being a large monitor that took up nearly the whole wall. Slade stalked to the screen and began fiddling with some keys on a panel at its base, Beast standing docilely by his slide. The one-eyed man looked at his new weapon.

            “Go back to the van and fetch your cage, bring it here.”

            Beast hesitated for a moment, a question pooling in his mind. Could he shift into a stronger form? But Slade was a Master, not a Titan, and Masters didn’t want Beasts to ask questions, simply to obey so he said nothing and disappeared into the hall. He made his way back to the van. It was slow going, though he went as quickly as possible. He thanked his lucky stars for his carrier pigeon instincts, somehow directing him to his cage no matter where it was. He was pretty sure that it didn’t work that way for the actual birds, but he wasn’t complaining. It was also part of his training to memorize his surroundings as quickly as possible and between the two, training and instinct, he made his way to the cage fairly quickly. Then came the difficult part: lugging it back. 

The instant the boy left Slade pulled up a window on the screen, showing a GPS revealing the boy’s whereabouts as he made his way back to the van. With a few more buttons the volume of the bug placed on the boy’s collar was amplified. With a swipe upon his enhanced armor the man pulled up a similar, though much smaller, screen. The man smiled grimly, seemed as though everything was in working order. His eyes traced the boy’s path through the halls, listening as the boy mumbled to himself about which direction to use.  His finger hovered over the mike button, awaiting the moment that the boy would take a wrong turn so that he could correct him. To the villain’s surprise and pleasure, no such opportunity arose and the green pet was soon carrying the cage into the room.

Beast lowered his head to hide a grimace as he pulled his cage into the room. Strange how something that seemed so small when he was locked inside of it seemed so large now that he had to carry it. His Master grunted, gaining the green boy’s attention, and pointed his head to a corner of the room with full view of the monitor. Beast moved to place the cage in the designated spot, turning to see that Slade was almost out of the room. Beast hastened to followed, only to be met with a backhand and glare.

“I don’t remember ordering you to follow me.” Beast’s cheeks heated with shame, he’d lost so much of his training while with the Titans. While the Before-Beast part of him- the Beast Boy part- mourned the separation from Titans and hated being back with a Master, the small piece of him that had totally succumbed to being Beast and had never felt wholly comfortable with the Titans could only bemoan that he had forgotten so much of his training. It hated that he was failing his Master, even a Master he’d never wanted. But Slade had the controller. He had the control.

Slade sighed angrily. “You would do well to forget all of the… failings those Titans taught you. You will be punished later, after your training. Follow.” 

Beast fought the urge to moan. He didn’t want to train, his neck burned horribly, he was sore from the earlier beating, he hadn’t slept in days, and his brief foray into unconsciousness had done nothing to demolish his exhaustion from fighting villains for weeks. Too bad. He was with Slade now, and would do anything his Master commanded. He had no choice.

Slade led him to an intricate track, an area designed to train every muscle, the mind as well as the body. Beast felt his heart sink farther and farther as Slade described each exercise on the course. One tested his strength, another speed, agility, dexterity, arm strength, leg strength, fighting ability, and overall the entire track worked his endurance. After looking over the path once Slade walked Beast to the starter line. “Begin.” He commanded, staying only long enough to watch Beast pass the first obstacle before turning to go back to his main room.

Slade’s eyes trailed across the monitor, the screen split in half. One side showed Beast’s plight as he struggled through the course, the other boasted many pop ups of blueprints and restricted informational articles. Each of the articles detailed information of a series of three computer chips, each one a different color and held inside another deeply protected in it’s own location. He had been working on a plan to trick Robin into stealing them for him, but now he had other plans. He could always use Robin for something else later on after all. After all, there was something in the local Wayne building that he’d had his eye on for a while.

His focus centered more on the screen showing Beast as the green creature neared the end of the track. He smiled to himself, mildly impressed with the boy’s speed. Beast slowed at he reached the end, never fully stopping before Slade deemed it time to finally test out the mike.

It was with immense relief that Beast crossed the last obstacle, assuming that since Slade was gone his training for the day was done. He was still moving when a slight voice, nearly indiscernible to the human ear though it was loud and clear to his superior senses, sounded from around his neck. Beast stopped in surprise. His collar had never done that before. However, he hesitated for only a moment before the command sunk in and he resumed running. “Again.”

* * *

 

Each of the other four Titans slept long and deep that night, relishing their first interruption-free night in weeks. The times at which they awoke were staggered, and as Beast began to awaken later as he grew comfortable with his new life, no one thought it odd when he was missing at the start of breakfast at 10. It wasn’t until the last of the waffles were done without the boy showing up that they began to feel misgivings. They would have checked on the boy immediately had his status between pet and Titan been so rocky. They were avoiding any intrusions into his privacy, anything that hinted at him being sub-human or that he deserved less rights. Therefore it wasn’t until he didn’t show up to share in a veritable pizza feast for lunch that they decided enough was enough and went to wake him. Of course, Cyborg was voted for the job.

“Hey, you okay in there BB?” He asked, knocking on the door. The teen stiffened in surprise as it slid open easily. Beast almost always closed his door firmly, something to do with having control over his room and who came into it, it was some part of animal instinct about owning a territory. He wouldn’t have left it open like this, especially after how freaked he’d been the night before. Even as the large Titan leaned into the room and called for his friend he knew exactly what he would see: an empty room.

His heart sunk as he ran from the room, racing through the halls and calling for his green friend, though he never received an answer. Finally he had nowhere else to go but the main room, and he found most of the Titans already alter and worried. Cyborg had to simply shake his head, devastation clear on his face, for them to scatter. Raven’s powers raged, searching for the boy as she and Starfire flew to the roof, Cyborg and Robin shared a glance. “The remote.”

“In the lab.”

And they were gone, rushing to the room and gazing with horror when they arrived to find the counter bare. The two pilfered around the room for a moment, desperately searching until they finally could no longer deny it. The remote was gone, and so was Beast Boy. Robin cursed. “I thought you were holding onto it!”

“He came to me last night and asked to see it. I offered to give it to him and he told me to leave it in here. He was scared that something would happen to it in a fight.”

“Do you think that the risk got too much and he just… left?” Robin suggested before scoffing and starting to pace, discarding the notion almost immediately. “Of course not, that’s stupid. He would have just kept it when you offered. He’s terrified of that stupid thing.”

Cyborg shook his head. “He was acting pretty funny all last night. I think Slade freaked him out.”

Robin’s eyes narrowed behind his mask. “Slade!” He spat, fury encompassing him. “I knew he was up to something. He must have taken him.” Robin let out a furious growl as his pacing increased. “We should have figured out how to get rid of the collar sooner, it left him vulnerable and now Slade has him!”

The girls swooped into the room, each looking frantic. Robin didn’t bother waiting for them to speak before bursting out with the news. “Slade captured Beast Boy and stole the remote.”

Starfire’s hands rose to cover her mouth, her eyes wide and horrified and the tools along the back wall cloaked in black and disassembled as Raven glared. Robin continued. “Search the town, see if you can find any trace of either of them. We don’t want to face Beast Boy as an enemy again.”

“We don’t want him to be with Slade any longer then needed either.” Cyborg growled and Robin nodded emphatically.

“Right. Either way we have to find them. Titans go!”

* * *

 

            Beast was gasping in exhaustion by his third time around. He had a stich in his side at the fifth. By the seventh he was barely standing. Thankfully, mercifully, as he finished his eighth run when Slade’s voice sounded through the collar instead of the ‘again’ he was accustomed to the command was ‘stop’. The green boy halted immediately, leaning gratefully against a wall, forcing his body to remain upright to give his lungs better air access.

            “Come.”

Beast came, praying against hope that Slade was still in the room with the computer. He was exhausted and didn’t want to search all over for his Master. Happily for him, Slade remained in the room, pouring over the screen. A bowl of greens and a cup of blessed water and ice sat on the floor next to Slade and Beast nearly lunged for them, starving and with a dry throat, but before he did a remembrance of his training kicked in and he controlled himself, moving up to stand by Slade’s opposite side. The masked man nodded in approval when Beast slid up to him.

            “Good. Then you didn’t completely forget your place.” He leaned down to pick up the bowl and cup and Beast’s heart began to race, assuming that the man was going to hand them to him. However, the sustenance remained tantalizingly in the man’s lap. “Look to the screen.” He commanded and Beast obeyed, catching sight of video tapes of various battles the Titans had fought.

            “Who are they?” He asked, and Beast had to force himself to swallow through a dry throat to remind himself never to refer to them as Masters again.

            “They are the Titans.”

            “And what are they.”

            “The enemy.” The green boy forced out, his voice contricting with sadness as he recalled their kindness, their smiles.

            “And what will you do next time you see them?”

            “Whatever you command.” No. No he didn’t want to. He wanted them to save him again, wanted to be a Titan. But he wasn’t, not anymore. He was a Beast. Only ever a Beast.

            Satisfaction slipped into Slade’s tone. “Good.” He handed Beast the cool glass but the boy hesitated before bringing it to his lips, something that only pleased the villain more. “You may drink.”

            Beast drowned the glass in two gulps, taking the ice into his mouth so as to not waste a single drop of a liquid more precious than oil. Slade began to hand him the bowl as well, but before he did he struck, landing two swift and powerful jabs to pressure points that left Beast paralyzed in agony, the untouched bowl inches away from his fingertips. Slade knelt down so that his mask brushed the boy’s pointed ear. “I believe you had punishment due for earlier insubordination.” He reached over and pulled the bowl up to him as he stood, obviously having no intention of returning it to the boy. All part of the punishment. “When you can move get back in your cage and sleep. You have an early start tomorrow.”

            It took Beast several minutes to be able to move through the pain, and the instant he had crawled into the cramped threshold of his cell he fell asleep.      

* * *

 

Three days later and Beast’s life had been nothing but training, sleep, and the occasional meal. The Titans were going crazy trying to find him and Slade, but so far there had been no luck and the green boy had no clue that they were even trying. Not that he had much time to think about them, between training, eating, being punished, and falling into exhausted unconsciousness at the end of the day. Yes, life was back to normal for Beast and he hated it. As he awoke on the fourth morning, cramped in his cage, he had no reason to expect anything different.

            However, instead of leading him to the training room the instant he woke up as per the norm, Master simply released Beast from his cage and directed the young shape shifter’s attention to the screen. Slade watched the boy as the green child eyed the articles and images on the monitor. “You have your first assignment today.” With a few clicks on his keyboard one of the three articles disappeared and the other two took up the screen, the pictures proudly showing colored computer chips. “I want these. Soon. Don’t disappoint me.”

            He turned to leave when he heard a slight squeak behind him. Beast stood, head bowed with one shaking hand held up for attention. Beasts were never supposed to speak to their Masters without being told, but sometimes a question had to be asked. Beast never knew how different Masters would react to him asking something.

            “Speak.” Slade commanded, granting the terrified boy permission.

            “W-what is the plan?” He Beast asked. Because Surely Master Slade had a plan, Masters always had a plan. He was just supposed to follow, something he did well. However, Slade just let out one scoffing laugh.

            “You figure it out.” He turned to leave. “If I do not have both chips within two days I consider this a failure. And remember,” He called back as he finally left the room, and suddenly Beast let out a pained yelp as Slade allowed the mike leading to the collar to broadcast interference, the loud screech grating upon his sensitive ears. “I’ll be watching you.”

Beast scowled at the door but didn’t dare to mumble angrily or growl at it. Master Slade was always listening after all. He slowly rubbed his pained ears as he made his way to the computers. Slade was determined he learned how to plan on his own, to figure out how to do things instead of just listening to orders. It didn’t make much sense to Beast, after all Slade seemed to love ordering him around. The green boy supposed he could see the merit on a weapon that you could tell to do something and it would do so without having to be instructed every step of the way but he had never really had to plan before. Even with years of practice Beast knew he would likely never get near the man’s strategic prowess, things would go so much simpler if Master Slade planned this out. Oh well, Beasts don’t question Masters.

He made his way over to the screen and began reading about the targets, minimizing the pictures he found blueprints and schematics of the warehouses holding the targets and the intricate security measures protecting them. The boy mumbled as he clumsily strategized, crudely miming shapes with his hands as he attempted to figure out what to do. All the while Slade watched, assessing, amused. He chuckled lowly as the boy left the room, finally putting his half-formed plan into action. He walked into the room shortly after the boy left, turning on the video camera he’d had installed at the collar’s center and sat back, volume high, to watch.   


	19. Master's Mandate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas our time is nearing it's end. Only one chapter left after this one, I hope you've all enjoyed the ride, I know I have!

 When the Titans arrived at the high-security warehouse they were met with a scowling police commissioner. The man said nothing, simply jerking his head to the side to lead them to a side room where several security feeds ran. He fixed the Titans with a steely glare. “Where is the green one?”

            Robin shuffled uncertainty before admitting, “He’s been missing for a few days. We think he’s been abducted. We’ve been searching for him but so far we’ve had no luck.” Suddenly his heart sank as trepidation snuck in. “Why?”

            The man leaned over a control panel with a scowl, clicking a button to play some of the security feed. “There was a computer chip stolen from here the last night. The guards saw absolutely nothing. We searched through the entire night’s data. This is the only anomaly we’ve found.”

            The feed was empty for a few moments, showing only a computer chip sitting in an empty room. Suddenly there was a bright blur of familiar green and the chip was gone. The Titans gaped at the screen, the commissioner’s glare resting soundly on Robin, the accusation clear in his eyes. Robin had sworn to him that everything was under control after all.

            “What happened?”

            Robin scowled. “We didn’t get the collar off soon enough. Someone else got to him.”

            The officer scowled but before he could say anything more the boy wonder interrupted him. “Aren’t there two other chips just like this? Shouldn’t we be focusing on protecting them?” If it was strange that Robin knew so much about the computer chips no one seemed to notice.

            “Fine. I’d just started preparing a team to split up and head to the other two sites. They should be heading out any second now and I want you to-“

            Suddenly he was interrupted as an officer burst into the room. “Another chip has been stolen.”

            The commissioner’s face turned purple with rage. “Alright, all forces to protecting the last chip. NOW! Move, move, move!”

            Titans and officers alike flew from the area, each heading out with one destination in mind. The group acted as extra security, watching over the target. But nothing happened that night. As morning broke a man brought the commissioner the already scrutinized security feed from the other building. The man and Titans watched as once more a green blur flew across the screen. This time appearing again as the camera continued its steady course roving the room. They stared in mute horror as any doubts were diminished and the suspicions proven true.

            The green blur, a hawk as it turns out, landed next to the wall, holding the chip between its stomach and the wall as it morphed into a large bird-eating spider, multiple legs holding onto chip as he scurried up the wall and completely out of sight of the camera. There was a momentary silence before Raven spoke. “I think I know how to find Beast Boy.”

* * *

 

Beast shivered slightly as he entered Slade’s lair, barely keeping a whimper silent. He didn’t want to be here. With a nearly silent sigh he clenched his prizes against his chest and opened his senses to find Slade. The man was just as the green boy expected him to be, in the monitor room sitting with two bowls, one full of vegetables and one empty. The boy winced slightly, he knew what this was. It was part of Master Slade’s training in strategy.

Each night after training the man would meet Beast in this room, two bowls in hand, and test him. For hours Slade would pose different scenarios and quiz him on what he would do in each. If he answered correctly a piece of food would be added to the empty bowl. If he answered incorrectly no food would be given. If he was really far off food was taken away. The first few night he went to bed with nearly nothing. Each day he got better but the questions got harder as well. He had yet to go to bed on a full stomach, but that was far from new. 

He’d hoped that succeeding in his job so early would entitle him to a free meal, but apparently his hopes were in vain. Slade held out one hand expectantly and Beast placed the two chips in his waiting hands, his heart soaring as two tomatoes were added to the empty bowl.

“Good.” Slade said, turning the chips over in his hands. “That was done… quickly. Why?”

Beast licked his lips nervously, his tongue catching on his fang. “I-I knew that the Titans wouldn’t think a second heist would happen so quickly. T-they would be more focused on getting information from the first. Especially if they thought I was behind it.”

The masked villain nodded and carrot joined the tomatoes. “What if there had been three targets? Would you use the same approach?”

The shape shifter had to think a moment before slowly shaking his head. “No matter how quickly I stole the first two, they would go to protect the third immediately. I wouldn’t have time to steal it before they got there.”

Another carrot. “What would you do?”

“S-steal the first one, then wait awhile before going after the other two. The Titans would have to split up, and I could go for the weaker two and steal that one first and go to the next as soon as possible because they might not be expecting two attempts so soon.”

Slade’s hand hovered over the bowls, bud didn’t move. That meant that Beast was on to something, but the answer wasn’t yet complete. The boy cast his mind in all directions, searching for the missing piece. “A-and they might… they might call for backup! Drawing the other Titans away from the other target.”

Half a head of lettuce moved. “What Titan group would you go for first?”

“T-that depends on their groups.”

The man leaned forward, eyeing the boy. “Who would you most want to avoid?”

“Raven.” He replied with little hesitation. “She could sense me as I came in and destroy any attempt at stealth.”

Some cucumber slices. “Next.”

“Cyborg. His sensors may pick up the signal of my collar.” He answered, feeling a stab of relief that the two Titans he wished to attack the least were the two that logic dictated he avoided. He truly didn’t wish to fight any of the Titans, but a painful coiling of his stomach arose at the thought of battling those two. Slade nodded and placed some more food in the second bowl, pleasantly surprised that the boy was faring so much better than with purely hypothetical scenarios.

“And of the last two?”

“Robin. He would be the most likely to lay traps or have intricate plans. He’s the… sneakiest.”

Slade nodded, pleased, and added another carrot. “You have a good sense of avoiding conflict. And is it always good to avoid fights?”

Beast, his mind still trapped in the mentality of a thief and the mindset of a prey-creature, nodded without hesitation. It seemed that answer was very wrong for Slade snarled angrily at him before grabbing a full handful of the boy’s dinner and throwing it into the other bowl. “No. We don’t always run from fights. Why?” He growled out angrily. Beast shrank back for a moment, his mind rushing dangerously.            

“I-it’s a sign of weakness?” He offered as his predator instincts rose. Slade growled angrily but moved toward neither bowl. Not the right answer. Beast tried again. “It lets us know our opponent’s strength?” Still nothing. “We can’t defeat them unless we fight them?”

Finally the man nodded his approval, though he didn’t add the food he had taken away. Instead the man growled and thrust the bowl at the shape shifter, nodding at the cage in the corner. “Go. You will be at full strength tonight. The third target is still waiting.”  

Beast took his food and made his way to his cage as the man left. Within seconds the meal was all but gone, Beast’s hunger just shy of being sated. He leaned back in his cramped quarters, relishing the rare rest. He wanted to clear his mind, truly relax with no distracting thoughts, but images of the Titans continuously confronted his mind. He thought of Stafire with her continuous smiles and kind patience. He always went to her first when anything confused him. Not that she was really much help, usually she was just as confused as he was. However, it did always make him feel better to know he wasn’t the only one confused. His mind turned to Robin, with the command and leadership of a Master, but gentle care to help him.  He had the control of a Master, but never used it against Beast, only for him. 

He remembered Raven, who so often appeared emotionless and stoic but would always be the first to watch over her friends for injuries, healing them no matter her exhaustion. She tried to maintain a blank, emotionless mask to the point that one could only catch glimpses of her moods, when she was caught by surprise and accidently allowed a spark of rage or sorrow or joy to speak though. In the time he was with the Titans Beast found himself obsessing over the smiles he had pnly rarely seen with his Masters. Most of the Titans were generous with their grins, and Beast Boy relished the expressions like a starving child relished a good meal. He loved Raven’s content not-smiles just as much but he wished, longed, that he may someday make her control slip and create a true smile across her face, give her reason to express a full grin. He was sure it would be beautiful. That would probably never happen though. Not anymore.

Cyborg always smiled at him, a great smile full of joy. He would never see it again. There would be no more exchanging of admittedly lame jokes, no more pizza and no more of the video games he was finally getting good at. Never again would he argue about meat and tofu or plan pranks that he never would have had the fear to pull alone. No more of his best friend. The green boy whimpered and curled upon himself more, fully expecting to sink into the folds of unconsciousness when footsteps once again neared his cage and he could smell the agonizing scent of food.

Beast closed his eyes tightly as he managed to rise to attention within his cage, knowing the torture that was to come. Though, he supposed it’s purpose probably wasn’t truly torment or punishment, but simply a job too important for a Master and was therefore cast off to the slave. Each night he was to bring his previous master his meals, a task made more torturous by the scent of food constantly accosting his starved senses. Beast wasn’t entirely sure why his old Master was still held prisoner, he supposed Master Slade simply didn’t trust him, but he wouldn’t question it. Beasts never questioned their Masters.

Sure enough Slade dropped the plate on the top of his cage. “You know where to go.”

With that as his only command Beast drug himself out of his confinement and made his way down to the cell where his old Master sat. The man scowled as Beast entered, rising from his seat to accept the meal. The man didn’t dare attempt escape, not when he himself knew the strength of the changeling’s training. He silently accepted the food, eyeing Beast closely as the green boy crouched against the wall to wait as the man finished his meal. The child tried hard not to watch as the man devoured his meal. Beast had gotten more food than usual, but it wasn’t nearly enough to truly sate his hunger. Suddenly the man spoke, his voice nary more than a breath, so slight that even Beast’s sensitive ears could barely pick it up, and there was no way it would register on the mic.

“I can help you escape.” Beast gave no reply other than a gentle twitching of his ear, not even his expression changing even as his heart rate increased. Escape? He could leave Slade? He could find the Titans? Would they forgive him for going back to stealing? Would they understand what the collar did to him? “I made a failsafe in the collar this time. I can get it off without it activating. I knew he wouldn’t let me go. If you get me out, you can kiss that collar goodbye.”

No collar! He could be truly free. Once more the only reply was a flicking of the ear, but Beast’s eyes rose, meeting the man’s as he cleared up the now-empty dishes. Their gazes locked, an intensity unmatched passed between the two, but still the boy said nothing. Beast left, his Master would be calling for him soon.      

* * *

 

Beast slowly shifted in his crouched position at the entrance of the silent warehouse. The Titans were here. He knew it. He could smell them, hear their breathing. They knew he was here too, he knew it. They were just waiting for him to continue, to fall into the trap they both knew was sent. Beast wanted nothing more than to go the other way, to run. Every instinct he possessed spoke against climbing into the den of these predators and enemies, placing himself into the perfect position to be attacked and not even attempting to avoid a fight. However, the weight of the collar on his neck reminded him that would never happen. He had to follow through his Master’s hated plan.

Padding forward on the silent paws of a housecat he made his way to his target. Just because the Titans surely knew he’d arrived didn’t mean they knew where he was. He longed to turn into a spider, where he could move a full speed without worrying about sound, but knew that it would happer his senses and he needed his sensitive feline ears. Such hearing came in useful when he heard the tiniest, almost silent rustle of something moving. Abandoning all pretenses he lunged forward and shifted, sprinting the last few meters as a cheetah and narrowly avoiding a black-cloaked cage as it crashed to the ground.

He leaped upon the pedestal and shifted human, palming the chip as he turned to face his foes. The Titans stood waiting in the hallway he had come down, watching him with a large array of emotions. From pity to sorrow to desperation to pleading.

“BB…” Cyborg implored, a look of intense pain in his human eye. Beast whimpered and scooted back, slipping his target into his pocket. “C’mon, we can help you. We got you out of this before didn’t we?”

Beast whimpered once more and slid off the pedestal, he wanted so badly to take him up on that offer but he knew he couldn’t. The situation was too different. They didn’t have the remote this time. His Master did. And they couldn’t even fight him for control, he wasn’t even there. The Titans couldn’t help this time, no matter how much he wanted them too. The boy’s sensitive ears perked as they picked up the minute voice of Slade issuing from his collar.

“Fight.”

Beast closed his eyes, mouthing the word ‘sorry’ to the Titans- to his friends- before he turned into a triceratops and charged. The Titans scattered, giving way beneath his attack, but Beast wasted no time in shifting forms and turning, coming face to face with Cyborg’s retreating back. He clung to the metal back as a spider monkey, eyeing the machinery and remembering one of Cyborg’s countless talks from one of those days back when he was confined to the room. The control panel for the robotic teen was situated at his back, the metal man had gone into it in detail during one of their talks. If Beast could remember correctly and hit the right spot then- He shifted into a bobcat form raring back one clawed paw as his remaining three grounded him to the flailing teen.

Beast hissed in disappointment as his initial attack didn’t so much as dent the durable metal. His fur sparked and singed as a starbolt flew by, missing his ears by centimeters. That’s right. He couldn’t forget that the other Titans were here. Cyborg grunted as the green bolt shot past him and Beast heard Starfire gasp in shock. He wouldn’t have to worry about any more attacks from her. Not while he was still clinging to Cyborg at least. Another strike of a powerful paw and slight scratched littered the metal, a lightning fast third strike opened the gouges even more. Beast gasped and shifted into the smaller form of a gecko as he heard the swish of Robin’s cape nearing, the green boy’s amphibian toes keeping him adhering to the slick metal. Cyborg grunted as the attack meant for the green boy landed squarely against his back.

Robin jumped back and apologized, giving Beast enough time to turn feline once more and add another swipe before going back to his smaller form as Robin advanced again. This dangerous dance continued, the Titans’ attacks helping Beast rather than hindering him until finally the gouges were deep enough that a final swipe cut through wires and mainframe. Suddenly Cyborg’s stumbling legs froze and the canon at his wrist fell back into an arm once more. Beast breathed a sigh of relief as he jumped away, Cyborg’s frustrated and panicked calls following the shape shifter as he darted to the shadows to plan his next attack. Cyborg was not injured, but he was out of the fight and that was all that Beast could ask for.

He didn’t have long to dwell upon that however, for it was only seconds before he heard the familiar call of ‘Azarath Metrion Zinthos,’ and had to jump to avoid a black-clothed chair careening towards his hiding place. Unfortunately his jump exposed him to his enemies. Raven eyes at him as her power flared, her eyes shining bright white. “It doesn’t have to be like this.” She called, but Beast could only shake his head in despair and cast her an apologetic glance before lunging once more. She took in a deep breath to prepare her mantra, unknowingly breathing in the green fly that darted to her face. However, she quickly noticed as the fly grew, becoming large, squishy, and slimy until a banana slug sat between her teeth. The empath let out a strangled ‘hrk!’ as she gasped over the disgusting creature, but it was too late. The mucus surrounding the slug became foamy and thick, nearly suffocating. The girl began clawing at her face, but she could not dispel the thick foam and could only glare as a green boy seemed to fall from her mouth to crouch in front of her.

Beast mouthed ‘sorry’ to her once more, but in his heart joy overcame any repentance. Cyborg was out of the fight with only some minor repairs needed and no physical pain, Raven was out with no true harm at all. If he could keep the damage of Robin and Starfire down to a minimum, then- 

His thoughts were cut off as he was forced to avoid a bolt of emerald energy. Two pairs of green eyes met as Starfire watched the green boy, saying nothing but her expression full of pained pleading. Her feet were grounded, for how could one feel unbridled joy as they battled a former friend. She felt weak, her strength gone for how could you feel boundless confidence as they fought an ally who wished to remain true. Beast, as though sensing the hesitation could only fist his hands and lunge.

Serpentine muscles coiled over orange-tanned skin, Beast’s mind whirling as he tried to think of a way to defeat the remaining two titans without truly harming them. Keeping Starfire from using her arms was working for now, but it wouldn’t do anything other than contain her. He could do this as painlessly as the others. With a sorrowful heart he shed his anaconda form for another snake, this one with far reaching fangs. With a bark-like huff a lime tiger snake sunk fangs into the girl’s arm, careful even in the heat of battle to only allow enough of his paralyzing venom to get her out of the fight, not enough to do any lasting harm. At least, it would have been enough to get her out of the fight had Starfire been an earthling. As it was he barely shot enough into her bloodstream to slow the hardy alien down a bit, maybe make a few muscles stiff. Certainly not enough to get her out of the fight, as Beast discovered the instant he jumped to attack Robin, only for a bolt of green to follow him.

He whirled around in surprise; nearly missing the sight of the bo staff hurtled towards his head as a result. With a growl he jumped back, retreating to assess the situation. If Robin were alone he was sure he could eventually beat him, after all he’d gotten close during the sparring and he wasn’t even changing forms then. However, he was reluctant to use any more venom, it was always hard to control himself soon after the first bite, and he knew he could no more face multiple Titans now than he had been able to in the first night so long ago.

Yet as he shook his head the large metal collar grated against his neck and he knew that he had no choice. With a roar he turned into a lion and lunged to attack. His mighty call turned into a surprise yelp as, with a flick of Robin’s wrist, a red crossed band in the shape of an X shot towards the feline, sticking to his fur and rendering him partially immobile. As the adhesive material touched the floor Beast found himself stuck to the ground as well. The green boy immediately got the best position he could and shifted into a larger creature, intending on breaking the viscous bindings. His heart began to race and panic set in as the adhesive red X refused to give, keeping him trapped even as he fought it.

Robin and Starfire neared the emerald boy cautiously as he struggled, watching with concern as terror and panic set in. The forms were shifting nearly faster than the human eye could track. Finally, exhausted and terrified at being trapped- _really, really trapped-_ he stopped, watching the Titans with wide and terrified eyes. Suddenly an almost indiscernible voice sounded from his collar. “Unacceptable.”

Beast’s back arched as he cried out in pain, electricity crackling through his body and frying the sticky material, making it crackle and fall off his skin. The boy gasped in the aftermath of the collar’s pain for a moment before rising to his feet and with a final glance at the Titans he disappeared. Starfire made a move as if to follow, as did Robin, but before either was able to move a muffled grunting from Raven alerted them to the plight of their friends and they turned from Beast. They hated leaving him to his fate, but knowing Slade, this wouldn’t be the last they saw of him.


	20. Final Flight or Final Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who followed me on this ride. I hope you've enjoyed it!!!

       Starfire flitted over to Raven, moving to help the girl out of the goo binding her mouth shut as Robin hurried to Cyborg wincing as he saw the enormous gouges along his back. However, the robotic Titan noticed nothing, his gaze locked on his arm as he fiddled with some sort of scanner. Robin eyed the damage critically before pulling a soldering gun out of his belt (always be prepared). He began pairing up like-colored wires, glancing at the metal man whose attention was still glued to his arm.

            “Hey Cy, do I need to know anything befo-“

            “Shh!” The robotic teen interrupted, not sparing the boy wonder a glance.

            Robin blinked in surprise, starting for a moment. “Cyborg, what are you-”

            “Quiet! Gimme a sec.” He continued fiddling with his arm. Raven and Starfire neared the pair as Starfire got rid of the last of the gunk coating the empath’s mouth.

            “Friend Cyborg, what is the matter?” Starfire asked. The largest Titan didn’t look up for a moment, continuing to tap at the computer screen on his forearm until finally a grin split is face and he gave a small, victorious yell before finally turning to the Titans as far as he could go, his legs still stuck.

            “Did you guys see his collar? It looked different, bigger, like it had been replaced.” The three slowly nodded as each remembered catching sight of the slightly altered neckpiece. “I thought that if it’d been replaced I might be able to hack into it, get control away from Slade. Doesn’t seem like a mistake Slade would make, but I had to see.” The robotic boy shook his head in slight amazement. “Y’all wouldn’t believe how much they tricked it out. It’s got a mic, bug, camera, the usual shock-thing, and –most importantly- a GPS.” With a grin the Cyborg revealed his arm, showing a compact computer screen bearing an overhead map and a tiny, blinking green dot.

            There was a moment of stunned silence before the Titans broke out in grins, and Starfire let out a joyous yell as they realized that their green friend was no longer lost. “What are we waiting for?” The alien yelled, ready to shoot off into the sky.

            “Uh, how about my legs?” Cyborg called, immediately settling the girl’s excitement as Robin hurried to begin fixing the robotic Titan’s back as Cyborg dictated. As the boys worked to repair the circuits, Raven made her way to where Beast Boy had been trapped, poking lightly at the red adhesive still stuck to the ground as a worried frown creased her lips.

            “Robin, what is this?” She asked and Starfire hovered near to poke at it as well.

            “Yes, I have never seen this before? Is it a new weapon?”

            The boy wonder shifted, his expression almost guilty. “Just… just something I was working on for… something. It doesn’t really matter now.” He grumbled, casting a glare at the empty pedestal. Raven frowned but said nothing as she dissolved the sticky substance on her fingers with a swish of black. She stood as Cyborg managed to move his legs, Robin using the small soldering gun to try and cover the gaping holes covering the robotic teen’s back. It was time to get their teammate back.

* * *

 

Beast shivered in fear as he landed right outside Master’s door. His beart beat a thousand times a minute, loud and pumping as blood flooded his ears. He was so scared. He didn’t want to face his Master, not yet. Not when he was still sore from his battle with the Titans, still reeling with panic from being well and truly stuck by the red bands. He trembled slightly, knowing that the bands were nothing compared to what his Master was likely to do with hum. The boy reached out with trembling fingers to gently push open the door, knowing that his Master would only grow angrier if he was kept waiting.

            The door slid open slowly, and Beast winced when he was able to catch sight of his Master. The man stood tall with his arms folded tensely behind his back, eyes locked onto the television screen and ignoring Beast. The green child said nothing, watching as the man stood with dissatisfaction coming off of him in waves. Beast slid lowly to the center of the room until he was a few meters behind Master Slade, his head bowed deeply in terrified submission as he waited to be acknowledged. He didn’t have to wait long.

            Slade whirled on the green boy, hand flashing out to deliver a powerful backhand that sent the green boy reeling. Beast didn’t dare whimper as he fell to the ground, not bothering to attempt to resist the force of the blow. He gathered his arms beneath him to help him rise, only to stop at a snarled command by his Master. “Stay down.” The man commanded, punctuating his words with a sharp kick to the boy’s gut.

            The shape shifter couldn’t stop the gasp as air left his body, but made no other move as blows continued to rain down on him. One falling to his face, splitting his lip. A kick to his back, making him curl into himself. A stomp on his ankles and a kick to his knee. Many, many more until he could no longer take notice of each individual blow. Finally the barrage ended. “Up.”

            Beast got to his feet swiftly, ignoring the throbbing of his knee where a particularly hard blow from Slade’s staff had landed. The masked man gripped the green child’s uniform and lifted the boy up until terrified green eyes met an orange-black mask. Slade’s other hand rose over the wrist to rest over the button, Beast’s wide eyes following the movement. “Do I have your attention?” Slade seethed and Beast whimpered low in his throat.

            “Yes Master.” He hurriedly replied and Slade dropped him.

            “Good, because I obviously didn’t have it before.” He snarled. “Did I tell you to come back here?”

            “No Master.” Beast answered, his voice coming out rough and his head lowering in shame. There was a horrible, drawn out _Zzzt_ and Beast yelped as painful, crippling electricity shot through him. The pain lasted only a moment before Slade released the button. For a moment there was near silence, the only sound Beast’s harsh panting as the boy struggled to remain on his feet.

            “Did I tell you to run from the Titans?”

            “No Master.” _Zzzt._ “Yelp.”

            “Did I tell you to stop fighting?”

            “N-no Master.”

            “What was that?”

            “No Master, you didn’t tell me to stop fighting.”

            “Exactly.” And Beast was once more in the troughs of electricity, unable to stay on his feet as the attack lasted far longer than the others had. He fell to his knees, a scream breaking past his lips as he was given no respite. Finally, after what felt like forever Slade released the button. Beast rode out the last of the muscle spasms as he was finally released from the pain. Green eyes opened in agony as the boy slowly attempted to rise, getting to his feet as Slade eyed him as though he were a disgusting insect.

            “You failed. You could barely battle them before Robin took you out of the fight, and then you ran. Pathetic.”

            “I-I got the chip!” The boy attempted, struggling to pull device from his pocket. Slade knocked him to the ground with one blow, towering over the green child as he hovered his thumb over the button once more. He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when a wall suddenly imploded, sending debris everywhere.

            The dust cleared, revealing four heroically posed teenagers. Beast felt his heart jump into his throat, for one blessed moment joy filled him as he though ‘they came to save me!’, but then Slade growled low in his throat and the changeling was forced back to reality as the man issued a sharp command.

            “Beast attack!”

            A green head snapped forward, lithe and pained body forcing itself into a defensive position before his mind was able to at all process the words. He felt his mouth go dry with terror as he realized that he was once again facing the Titans, former friends and fearsome foes. His injuries strained at his will as he shifted to a more fearsome form, reminding him that he hadn’t been able to fully defeat them when well. What choice did he have now? If the way Slade was calmly leaning against the wall as he eyeing Beast critically was anything to go by, he wouldn’t be any help.

            Starfire opened her mouth to speak, as though to call for him once more to leave Slade’s side, but a single glance at the villain had her closing her lips, knowing that she would be speaking in vain. Beast closed his eyes for a single second before jumping into the attack. As usual his initial leap was dodged, but by twisting in the air as he landed and lashing out with long claws he was able to snag the end of a purple cape. Raven. Yet before Beast could move Raven turned to reveal glowing-white eyes and he heard only a light clanking of metal as warning before his black-encased cage careened towards him.

            Beast yelped as he tumbled through the cage’s open door, a feeling of insatiable fear rushing through him as the black bars enclosed him, the terror so great that for a moment he found himself instinctually shifting to the form of a human and whimpering as a wave of adrenaline, pain, and instinct flooded through him in an instant and unbelievable panic. _Raven put him in the cage, she put him in the cage, not Raven, not a Titan, Titans weren’t supposed to put him in the cage, door closing, no no nonono!_

His arm lashed out as the door closed, and he cried out softly as his bruise wrist split and bled as it was trapped between the metal of the cage and the door. Immediately the blackness faltered and Beast was able to push out of the cage, still terrified. His limbs shook as he burst out of the metal bars, but he forced himself not to ignore the fear, to use it and his next roar was a canine snarl af fear and anger. Immediately he was set to avoiding and attacking the Titans, nothing more than a blur of green fur, feather, scales, set against the Titan’s various colors.

Finally, as was to be expected, Robin tore off from the main fighting group, preferring instead to attack Slade. The two fought and Beast found himself losing even more ground against the remaining three Titans as he attempted to keep watch over the two foes. Finally, with a mighty swipe of a silver bowstaff Robin was sent flying, and Beast was ready. As Slade’s boy knocked the boy wonder away, a lime housecat jumped to just behind his legs. As the bow forced Robin away, he stumbled even farther back until he landed dangerously close to one of the turning gears.

Robin made a move to jerk his head away, but the fast movement brought his cape billowing up, embedding the durable fabric into the slowly moving gear. Robin cursed as he was slowly strangled, reaching desperately towards his boot where a small blade lay hidden as he was pulled closer and closer to the crushing metal.

“Robin!” Starfire cried, rushing towards the Titan leader as Raven encased the gear in black in attempt to stop it’s movement. However, before Starfire could make it to Robin’s aid Beast leaped, striking against her stomach with powerful kangaroo legs. The girl let out a slight yell as she was pushed backward, the yell becoming a cry of pain as her head was bashed against one of the gears opposite Robin, the cry becoming a slight shriek as the gear caught her hair and pulled it back. With a yell she attempted to pull out, but as she pulled back it made the gears move faster, drawing Robin closer to the metal spokes.

“Starfire!” Raven called out, encasing the entire gear work in her magic as she struggled to save her friends. The alien immediately stopped fighting, Raven holding the contraption still as Robin struggled to fight through the extremely durable fabric of his cape. Only Cyborg remained.

Beast panted as he eyed the half-robot, his injuries and exhaustion beginning to show. Cyborg shifted, his cannon reluctantly trained on his friend as he shifted nervously. He knew that he was even more susceptible than usual, the fix on his back a hack job at best, the gashes on his back barely soldered together and the spots still incredibly weak. He kept his eyes trained on the boy, not going of the offensive but never letting green child get anywhere near his back. Suddenly he stopped, the blue power dying in his cannon as it shifted back into a robot it arm.

“You know what? This is stupid. I’m not going to fight you, Grass Stain.”

Beast visibly flinched at the name and Slade shifted, neither speaking nor moving far, just moving enough to remind the shape shifter that he was there. Beast shifted his eyes from his Master to his friend before snarling at Cyborg, an emerald Lion. Cyborg didn’t even flinch.

“You’re better than this Green Genes, I know you are. You know you are.” Another snarl, almost like Beast was begging for the man to stop talking. “You aren’t a weapon, remember?” Cyborg began reaching for a compartment behind him. Slade tensed, but Beast couldn’t find it in himself to move. “You’re a Titan.” The robotic arm straightened, his fist held out in front of him, hiding his prize from view. “You aren’t Beast anymore.” His fist opened. “You’re Beast Boy.”

_Bounce._

A blue rubber ball fell to the ground, bouncing slowly as it rolled towards Beast-Beast Boy?-Beast?- the shape shifter’s feet. The large feline’s legs were shaking, his pants becoming desperate gasps. Suddenly a snarl sounded that was wholly un-animal. Slade. The masked villain was glaring with his one eye, his figure animating fury.

“You. Will. Fight.” He commanded. Sending just enough of a jolt of electricity up the collar to wrangle up a strangled scream from the boy. The scream ended in a snarl and growl as the electricity tapered out. Beast crouched and lunged. Cyborg yelped in fear and attempted to shield his face, cursing himself for getting rid of his cannon. A heavy weight landed on his crossed arms and the robotic Titan prepared to throw the boy off, but he was already gone. One human eye widened as the teen whirled, turning just in time to see a pit bull lock it’s jaws around a black and orange armored arm.

Slade flailed, striking at the boy again and again, but the lime canine held on, his jaws wrapped around the armor covering the remote. Finally the man gave up beating the boy and gripped a hold of the metal collar. A low growl emitted from a green throat, and emerald fangs sunk in farther as the villain tore him off with a resounding cry. “Off Beast.”

The green dog’s form shifted, becoming human. The slight form stood, spitting out of his mouth the remains of his remote. A black and orange mask gaped at the bare arm where the device one rested, until he himself tore it off as he pulled the green boy away.

“The name’s Beast Boy.”

Cyborg cheered, no longer having eyes for Slade as he ran to embrace his friend. Beast Boy, however, leveled a fearsome glare at the man, a truly enraged growl coming from the bottom of his throat. A single eye shifted to where Robin was cutting through the last threads of his cape, Starfire seconds from being freed. With a single snarl and a cryptic promise to return, the man didn’t bother to take his chances, he disappeared into the night.

Finally Robin cut away the last of the fabric and rolled to his feet, eyes immediately seeking out the disappearing man. He took a single step as though to follow but hesitated for a millisecond and glanced back at his green teammate. That millisecond was all it took for the villain to disappear completely. With a sigh he turned his gaze from the empty place where the man once stood. He had teammates to watch out for. With a smile he watched as the green boy was nearly suffocated by a crushing tamaranian embrace while Raven stood idly by, her gentle smile a muted mirror of Beast Boy’s beaming grin.

* * *

 

 

Beast shivered to himself as he stood outside the door, knowing that the one man with the ability to control his collar waited on the other side. He allowed himself a small whimper as Cyborg clenched his shoulder reassuringly. He would have to go in alone. The old master promised release only for his freedom, if he knew the Titans were there to cart him off to jail he would refuse. Or worse, pretend to help only to tamper with it and activate it. He created it, who knew what he could make it do. That was why Beast Boy was going to go in alone, follow a lie of Robin’s creation, and get the collar off. Once it was gone the Titans would storm the room. Beast Boy felt an uncomfortable stirring in the pit of his stomach, something telling him this wasn’t completely right. However, a large part of him was simply happy that he hadn’t had to come up with a plan, and ecstatic that he was free from Slade and with the Titans again and he didn’t give it a second thought.

Casting a small grin back at the Titans he took a deep breath and went into the room, missing the worried glance that Cyborg cast Robin.

“You sure this is the best way to go about this?”

Robin sighed, disconcerted. “I don’t know. I don’t know enough about him to know what would be best. I didn’t have enough time to look through his records. But if he’s coward enough to go againt his word, he’ll be coward enough for us to take him. We’re just going to have to hope that it works and be here to back him up in case it doesn’t.”

            Beast Boy stood tall as he entered the small room, taking in the man’s surprised glance as he started for a moment before relaxing with an unsettling smirk. “Back already. I must admit, when I made the offer I didn’t expect you crawling back this fast. What, Slade fall asleep and you think this is your big break? I’m not an idiot, Freak.”

            Beast Boy licked his lips, feeling his heart pounding as he prepared to lie. “He’s asleep, but he won’t be waking up for a while. He wanted to spar. You fight a lot harder when you can actually gain something by winning.” He words sounded dull to him, his speech choppy. He could only hope that the man attributed it to how rare it was that he got to speak and rather than anything else. The man’s eyes narrowed before he finally nodded to the table where Beast had lay before, a nearby tray still holding his tools.

            Beast Boy lay on the table, his eyes closing as he felt a series of tugs and tweaks on the metal band. He heard the low voice of his old owner above him. “You sure he won’t show up here? That he’s out for good?”

            “He won’t show up for a while.”

            “Good.” Suddenly there was a flash of pain and the man’s grip tightened around the metallic strip. Beast screamed, the man said something about owning Beast once again, but it went unheard as he was overwhelmed by the intense pain. However, even as the pain died and the green boy regained his senses he heard a low high-pitched whining. Blearily opening eyes he caught sight of his old master, his head held precariously between Cyborg’s fully-charged cannon and Starfire’s green glowing hand. Robin stood behind him, the sharp end of a bat-arang pinning the man in place as his sharpest tools kept him frozen as they floated in front of him, cloaked in Raven’s magic.

            Starfire’s clear voice rang through the small room. “I would suggest that you commence with freeing friend Beast Boy.”

            “Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.” Robin replied, a hint of threat in his voice as the man whimpered and nodded slowly. Beast Boy grinned at his friends, ignoring the man as he resumed the work with trembling fingers. The green child shifted so that his arms were comfortably folded behind his head.

            “So… pizza after this? I’m starving!”

            Cyborg grinned, never lowering his arm. “Sure thing, B. Did you hear they added three new types of meat to the ‘he-man’ pizza?”

            “Uh-huh. I’ll just stick with veggie-tofu Supreme.”

            “C’mon Grass Stain, nobody likes that crap.”

            “That’s okay, I can eat the whole thing.”

            Cyborg scoffed with a laugh, and slight smiles began to show even on the other Titans. The villain’s hands slowed, his mouth falling open in a gape as he heard the creature- the weapon- the boy?- react with the Titans. Smiling, laughing, joking. His hands stilled completely as his surprise slowly increased. However, a sharp jab from one of the magic-held tools brought him back to the matter at hand and he snipped the last of the collar off, watching as the boy slowly pried the metal away.

            Beast Boy’s eyes widened as he felt the metal split, his shaking hands rising to meet the collar. He sat up as he pried the last of the device away. Taking in a deep breath, he reveled in the feeling of his throat being bare for the first time in years. Slowly a single hand rose to touch the skin and he closed his eyes. Finally, he finally felt free.

            Opening his eyes he grinned at his friends, jumping off the table with a broad smile. “So, about that pizza…”

           


	21. Please like this on Inkitt

Hey guys, This isn't a chapter, but I posted this on inkitt for a fanfiction writing contest. If you like it, please give me a heart over there! Thanks!


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